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[ Whole Number . 

UNITED STATES BUREAU OF EDUCATION. 
CIRCULAE, or INEORMATIOISr NO. 3, 1900. 



CONTRIBUTIONS TO AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL HISTORY. 

EDITED BY HERBERT B. ADAMS. 



No. 28. 



HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK. 



BY 



SIDNEY SHERWOOD, Ph. D., 

Associate Professor of Political Economy in Johns Hopkins Urviversily. 



WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTINa OFFICE. 
1900. 



[ Whole Number 264 

UNITED STATES BUREAU OF EDUCATION. 
CIRCTJLAR OF INFORMATION NO. 3, 1900. 



CONTRIBUTIONS TO AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL HISTORY. 

EDITED BY HERBERT B. ADAMS. 






No. 28. 



HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE STATE OE NEW YORK. 



BY 



SIDNEY^ SHEKWOOD, Ph. D., 

Associate Professor of Political Economy in Johns Hopkins University. 



WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
1900. 






n, m e, 

• - Mil 






LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 



Department of the Interior, 

Bureau of Education, 
Wasliington, D. C, July 2, 1900. 
Sir : I have the honor to transmit for publication the twenty-eighth 
number in the series of Contributions to American Educational His- 
tory, edited by Prof. H. B. Adams. The present volume deals with the 
University of the State of New York and was prepared by Prof. Sidney 
Sherwood, of Johns Hopkins University, a native of the State and 
a graduate of Princeton University, who had the assistance of a num- 
ber of teachers and officers connected with the various institutions 
described. Part I of this monograph deals with the origin, history, 
and present organization of the University of the State of New 
York, which is an executive and not a teaching body, and hence unlike 
any other American educational institution. This part has been pre- 
pared by Professor Sherwood in person, whose official connection with 
a university and whose careful and scholarly methods well fit him 
for the task. After the University itself has been described, come a 
series of chapters dealing with the institutions comprised within it. 
These chapters have been prepared generally by persons connected 
with those institutions. A chaiDter is devoted also to women's col- 
leges, one to professional and technical schools, while an appendix 
containing an account of the original development of the common 
schools, by Dr. Andrew S. Draper, is added. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. T. Harris, 

Commissioner. 
Hon. E. A. Hitchcock, 

Secretary of the Interior. 



CONTENTS 



Page. 

Author's preface _ 23 

Part I. — University of the State of New York; Origin, History, 
AND Present Organization. 

Introduction 31 

New York a leader in innovation.. 33 

Plan and scope of the work 32 

Chapter 1 . Outline of the Present System of Education in New York . 34 

Private schools 34 

State educational systems 34 

Department of public instruction or common-school system _ 34 

School districts ... 34 

Union free-school districts , 35 

School commissioners 35 

City public schools 35 

State superintendent of public instruction 35 

Chief executive powers of the State superintendent 35 

Uniform examinations ... 36 

Teachers' institutes 36 

Academic teachers' classes 36 

Normal schools . 37 

Judicial powers of the State superintendent . 38 

The superintendent of public instruction and the uni- 
versity 39 

University of the State of New York, or the system of higher 

education 39 

University act of 1889 39 

The university in form a private corporation 40 

The university in fact a State bureau of higher educa- 
tion . . ._ 41 

State control of the university. 42 

Summary. State educational policy 43 

Chapter 2. The Pounding op the University 44 

Higher education in colonial times _ 44 

King's College 46 

New York at the close of the Revolution 48 

Legislation of 1784 48 

Actof May 1, 1784 52 

Amendatory act of November 26, 1784 54 

Legislation, a compromise of parties 56 

5 



6 COI^TEFTS. 

Chapter 2. The Founding of the University — Continued. Page. 

Legislation of 1787..... 57 

Predominance of Columbia College 57 

Opposition to the Columbia monopoly 59 

Struggle over the new law - . . - 60 

Attempt of Columbia to reorganize the university 61 

Popular attempt at reorganization 64 

L'Hommedieu's bill and Hamilton's bill not the same _ . 68 

Consolidation and compromise 73 

Act of April 13, 1787 76 

Hamilton or L'Hommedieu? 80 

Chapters. An Era op Educational Revolution 81 

University of the State of New York a revolution 81 

The revolutionary idea not English 82 

Contrast between the university and the English univer- 
sities - . 83 

The revolutionary idea in New York before 1784 84 

-An era of educational revolution in America, 1776-1789 88 

Georgia 88 

North Carolina _ _ 88 

Pennsylvania 89 

Massachusetts 89 

Virginia ... _ 89 

Political revolution and educational revolution 90 

The educational revolution in Europe .._ 91 

France the nursery of the educational revolution 92 

Debt of New York to France .. 96 

The American State University 99 

Chapter 4. A Century of University Work 100 

University extension 102 

The university's opportunity 105 

A school for graduate work ... 105 

An academy for the training of civil officers 107 

General education in economics and politics 109 

Bibliography Ill 

Appendix : 

Text of university laws, ordinances, and by-laws ._ 113 

Part II. — The Institutions Comprised in the University. 

Chapter 5. Universities and Colleges foe Men, Including Those also 
Admitting Women. 

1. Columbia University (1754), by Frank R. Hathaway.. 133 

King's College, 1754-1784 133 

Lottery act of 1746 133 

Appointment of Dr. Samuel Johnson as president. 133 

First-entrance examinations . 134 

Charter of King's College (Columbia) 1754... 134 

Incorporators 134 

Sectarian disputes 135 

College seal 135 

First building, 1756 136 

First commencement, June, 1758 136 

Appointment of Prof. Myles Cooper, 1762 137 

Resignation of President Johnson, 1763 .. 138 



CONTENTS. 7 

Chapter 5. Universities and Colleges for Men, etc.— Continued. page. 
1. Columbia University, etc. — Continued. 

Professor Cooper made president 1,38 

Establishment of a medical department, 1767 _ 138 
President Cooper forced to leave by the revolu- 
tionary sentiment 138 

Rev. Benjamin Moore, president j:)ro tempore 138 

College building used as a hospital, 1776 138 

President Cooper's account of the college 139 

Founding of Columbia College, 1784-1787 139 

Reorganization, under the regents of the univer- 
sity, as Columbia College, 1784 139 

Failure of plan for divinity and law faculties _ 140 

The faculties of arts and medicine 141 

The new charter of 1787 141 

The early presidencies, 1787-1849: 

Presidency of William Samuel Johnson 142 

Grant of State lands, 1790 142 

Further State aid, 1793 143 

Chancellor Kent's law lectures 143 

Presidency of the Rev. Charles H. Wharton, 1801. 145 

Presidency of the Rt. Rev. Benjamm Moore, 1801 _ 145 
Incorporation of the College of Physicians and 

Surgeons, 1807 145 

The Elgin botanic garden 145 

Question of removal of site 146 

Gift of land by the State 146 

Curriculum in 1810 147 

Presidency of the Rev. William Harris, 1811 148 

Changes in the faculty 148 

Higher requirements for admission 148 

Professor McVickar's course in political econ- 
omy .. 149 

Chancellor Kent's reappointment 149 

Presidency of Judge William Alex. Duer, 1830. _. . 150 

• Liberalization of the course 150 

Presidency of Nathaniel F. Moore, 1842 150 

Administration of President King, 1849-1864: 

Presidency of Charles King 151 

Removal of the college to Forty-ninth street, 

1857 151 

Curriculum in 1857 152 

Plan for a university course of study 153 

Francis Lieber, professor of history and polit- 
ical science ._. 153 

Founding of the law school 155 

Teaching of Professor D wight .... 155 

College of Physicians and Surgeons adopted by 

Columbia, 1860 156 

Resolutions on resignation of President King. 157 
Administration of President F. A. P. Barnard, 1864-1888: 

State of the college at his accession 157 

Life and services of Professor McVickar. . _ 158 

Founding of the school of mines 158 

Prof. John S. Newberry 159 



8 CONTENTS. 

Chapter 5. Universities and Colleges for Meit, etc. — Continued. Page. 

1. Columbia University, etc. — Continued. 
Administration of President Barnard, etc. — Continued. 

Development and enlargement of the courses _ 160 

Department of mathematics . 161 

Work of Professors Davies and Peck 161 

Prof . Ogden N. Rood 161 

Department of Greek and Latin _ - 162 

Work of Professor Anthon 1 68 

The elective system 163 

Post-graduate work 163 

Reorganization of the law school 164 

New professorship in school of mines 164 

Changes in the school of arts 165 

Development of the post-graduate scheme _ . _ . 166 
Establishment and development of the school 

of political science ... .. 166 

Expansion of the university system 168 

Removal of the law school . 169 

Course lengthened to three years 169 

Thelibrary 170 

The herbaria . - 172 

Cabinets and collections 173 

The Vanderbilt gifts . 174 

Death of Dr. Short 175 

Resignation of President Barnard, 1888 176 

State of the college in 1889 176 

Administration of Dr. Drisler 177 

School of electrical engineering . . 177 

Accession of President Seth Low, 1890 178 

Administration of President Low, 1890, by Sidney Sher- 
wood 179 

Organization at President Low's accession ... 180 

The present organization - 181 

University council _.. 181 

Administrative organization 182 

New faculties established 182 

Educational organization 183 

Work of the several faculties 183 

School of arts in college proper 183 

School of law 183 

College of Physicians and Surgeons 185 

School of mines _.... 185 

School of political science 185 

School of philosophy Ic 6 

School of pure science 187 

University press . _ 187 

Statistics of university.-. 188 

The new site and buildings 190 

President Low"s gift 190 

Columbia University and New York City _ 191 

Bibliography .- - . 194 

2. Union University, 1795. By Robert C. Alexander. 

Petition of 1779 and first charter 198 



CONTENTS. 9 

Chapter 5. Universities and Colleges for Men, etc. — Continued. ' page. 
2. Union University, etc. — Continued. 

Petition of 1783 .._ _ 199 

* Academy in Schenectady, 1785 _. 200 

Academic charter, 1793 201 

Petition for college charter, 1794 201 

Charter of Union College, 1795 201 

Academy merged in college __ 201 

Presidency of John Blair Smith, D. D. , 1795-1799 . 202 

Regents' report on the college, 1797 203 

Presidency of Jonathan Edwards, D. D. , 1799-1801 . 204 
Presidency of Jonathan Maxcy, D. D. , 1801-1804 . _ 204 
Accession of the Rev. Eliphalet Nott to the presi- 
dency, 1804 204 

Thelottery 205 

Purchase of new college grounds . . 206 

New buildings 206 

Lottery of 1814 207 

Financial difficulties 207 

Charges against Dr. Nott . 208 

Vindication... 209 

Growth and fame of the college 209 

Semicentennial, 1845 209 

Dr. Nott's semicentennial as president, 1854 , . . 210 

Appointment of Dr. L. P. Hickoli as vice-president. 210 

Effect of the civil war 210 

Dealhof Dr. Nott, 1866 ., 210 

Presidency of Dr. Hickok, 1866-1868 210 

Presidency of Charles A. Aiken. D. D.. 1868-1870 . 310 

Presidency of Dr. Eliphalet Nott Potter, 1870-1884. 310 

Acting presidency of Judge J. S. Landon, 1884-1888. 310 
Presidency of Harrison E. Webster, LL. D., 1888- 

1894 210 

Educational influence of Union: 

Distinguished professors ... ... 211 

First to put scientific course on level with classi- 
cal. 211 

Optional system 211 

Secret fraternities 212 

The presidents. 213 

Buildings and grounds ._. 213 

Trus -ees 316 

Faculty. 316 

Alumni 817 

Courses of study 217 

Scholarships 231 

Honors _ 221 

Incorporation of Union University, 1873 225 

Services of Presiden t Webster 226 

Accession of President Andrew V. V. Raymond, 

D.D.,1894 ._ 336 

Centennial celebration, 1895 , .. 337 

Bibliography 828 



10 CONTENTS. 

Chapter 5. Universities and Colleges for Men, etc. — Continued. Page. 

3. Hamilton College, 1812 _.__ 239 

Hamilton Oneida Academy, 1794. 229 

Samuel Kirkland, founder of the academy 231 

Founding of the college . -. 233 

Presidents of the college: 

Dr. Azel Backus, 1812 _. 234 

Dr. Henry Davis, 1817 235 

Dr. SerenoE. Dwight, 1838 235 

Dr. Joseph Penney, 1835 235 

Dr. Simeon North, 1839 235 

Dr. Samuel Ware Fisher, 1858 235 

Dr. Samuel Gilman Brown, 1867 236 

Dr. Henry Darling, 1881 . 236 

Dr. Melancthon Woolsey Stryker, 1893 236 

Courses of instruction 236 

Scientific collections 237 

Grounds and buildings 238 

Library . 240 

Honors _. 241 

Law school of Hamilton College 241 

Summary of alumni 242 

Bibliography 242 

4. Hobart College, 1825 . 243 

Grant of Trinity Church to Fairfield Academy . . . 243 

Grant transferred to Geneva Academy 243 

Charter of Geneva College, 1825 243 

Presidency of Dr. Jasper Adams, 1826 244 

Presidency of Dr. Richard S. Mason, 1 828 244 

Medical school established, 1834 244 

Presidency of Dr. Benjamin Hale, 1886 244 

Trinity Church increases endowment, 1851 245 

Name changed to Hobart Free College, 1851 245 

Presidency of Dr. Abner Jackson, 1858 345 

Name changed to Hobart College 245 

Dr. W. D. Wilson, acting president, 1867 245 

Presidency of Dr. James Kent Stone, 1868 345 

Presidency of Dr. James Rankine, 1869 . . 245 

Presidency of Dr. M. Van Rensselaer, 1871 245 

Presidency of Dr. W. S. Perry, 1876 245 

Presidency of Dr. R. G. Hinsdale, 1876 345 

Prof. H. L. Smith, acting president, 1888 845 

Presidency of Dr. E. N. Potter, 1884 345 

Presidency of the Rev. G. E. Jones, 1897 245 

Notable teachers -.. 246 

Development of classical course 346 

Development of the English or scientific course 247 

Statistics of alumni ^ . - 248 

General Myer and the United States Weather 

Bureau -. -- --- 249 

Other distinguished alumni 250 

Bibliography 250 

5. New York^Tniversity, 1831 258 

First plan for the university, 1829 253 



CONTENTS. 11 

Chapter 5. Universities and Colleges for Men, etc. — Continued. page. 

5. New York University — Continued. 

Meeting of citizens to consider the plan 353 

Appointment of standing committee 255 

Competition of Columbia College for status as the 

city university 256 

Failure of union with Columbia 257 

First fund subscribed 258 

Incorporators 258 

Albert Gallatin, first president of the council, 

1830 --- 259 

His plan for a college without other languages 

than the English 260 

Convention called by Chancellor Mathews in Octo- 
ber, 1830 -.- 261 

Plan of organization ... 262 

Early poverty and failure of the graduate school. 263 

Morse's first telegram 264 

Draper's invention of photography. 264 

The school of law, 1835 264 

The school of medicine, 1836 265 

Dissension and resignation of Chancellor Mathews, 

1839... 265 

Theodore Frelinghuysen. chancellor, 1839-1850 266 

Gardiner Spring, D.D., chancellor ad interim, 1850- 

1852 266 

Isaac Ferris, D. D.. LL. D. , chancellor, 1852-1870. . 266 

Scientific and technological courses 266 

Howard Crosby, D.D., LL.D., chancellor, 1870-1881 266 

Debt ; abandonment of col lege work suggested _ 266 

JohnHall, D.D., chancellor adinterim, 1881-1884^. 267 
Dr. Henry Mitchell MacCracken's chancellorship, 

1884 267 

Reorganization of college work 267 

Opening of the graduate school, 1886 268 

School of pedagogy, 1890 268 

The women's advisory committee 270 

Reorganization of the law school, 1891 . 270 

Reorganization of the medical school, 1891 271 

Removal to University Heights 272 

New scholarships . ... 275 

Group system 276 

Progress in the several schools 276 

Bibliography 278 

6. Colgate University, 1846 278 

The Baptist Education Society of the State of New 

York, 1817 278 

Hamilton Literary and Theological Seminary, 1820 _ 279 

Charter of Madison University, 1846 280 

Struggle with the ' ' Rochester " party 280 

Presidency of Dr. N. Kendrick, 1836-1848 280 

Presidency of Dr. Stephen W. Taylor, 1851 280 

Presidency of Dr. Eaton, 1856 280 



12 CONTENTS. 

Chapter 5. Universities and Colleges for Men, etc.— Contintied. 

6. Colgate University — Continued. Page. 

Presidency of Dr. Ebenezer Dodge, 1868 281 

"Jubilee "fund of $135,000_-. 281 

The Colgate gifts and others 281 

Connection with the preparatory school and the 

theological seminary . . 281 

Library and laboratory equipment 282 

Death of President Dodge, 1890 _ .. . 282 

State of university, 1890 282 

Change of name to Colgate, 1890 283 

Gift of $1,000,000 by James B. Colgate 284 

Statistics of alumni 284 

Dean Andrevs^s and President Smith 284 

University extension department 284 

Bibliography 285 

I. University of Buffalo, 1846... 285 

8. St. Johns College, Fordham, 1846 _.. 285 

9. University of Rochester, 1851 286 

Charter and organization 286 

Contest with Madison University 286 

Important eveuts in the history of the University 

ofRochester. 289 

1853. Presidency of Dr. Anderson ....._ 289 

1861. Charter made perpetual .. - 290 

1880. Increase of endowment 290 

1882. Changes in curriculum. .... 290 

Presidency of Dr. D. J. Hill, 1888 291 

Aims and methods of instruction 291 

Requirements for bachelors' degrees ... 292 

Eclectic students 292 

Preparation for professional study _ 293 

University extension department 293 

Property 295 

Students 296 

Bibliography _ _ ._ 297 

10. College of the City of New York, 1854: 

The Free Academy, 1846 .- 298 

Dr. Horace Webster, principal, 1848 298 

Incorporated, 1854 .. .„ 299 

Chartered as a college, 1866 299 

Gen. Alexander S. Webb, president, 1869 293 

Courses of study 299 

Classical 299 

Scientific 299 

Mechanical 299 

Development 300 

Library 300 

Attendance. 301 

Newsite 301 

Faculty 301 

Bibliography. 302 

II. St. Lawrence University, 1856: 

Charter and organization 302 

List of presidents 303 



CONTENTS. 13 

Chapter 5. Universities and Colleges for Men, etc. — Continued. Page. 

11. St. Lawrence University — Continued. 

The theological school - 303 

Academic department - 304 

Faculty ..-. - 305 

Curriculum 305 

Library and buildings - 306 

State aid and private gifts 307 

Statement of property. 308 

Graduates. 309 

Bibliography 310 

12. Alfred University, 1857: 

Alfred Academy and the university 311 

Charter 311 

President Kenyon , 1857 311 

President J. Allen, 1866 311 

Courses of instruction 312 

Degrees conferred by the university 312 

Statistics of instructors, students, and prop- 
erty 312 

Buildings..,- 312 

President Arthur E. Main 312 

Bibliography 313 

13. St. Stephen's College, 1860: 

Aims of the college 313 

Alumni and students 313 

Buildings and library _ 314 

14. College of St. Francis Xavier, 1861: 

First and second charters 314 

Courses ._- 314 

Presidents 314 

Statistics 315 

15. Manhattan College, 1863: 

Its history 315 

Its distinguished men , 315 

16. Robert College of Constantinople, 1864 317 

17. Syrian Protestant College, Beirut, 1864 317 

18. Cornell University, 1865: 

I. — The Federal Land Grant and the People's College. 

The Federal land grant 318 

The People's College 319 

Acceptance of the scrip by the State 319 

Bestowal upon the People's College 320 

Loss of scrip by People's College 322 

II. — The Founding of Cornell University. 

The founders 828 

A year of preparation 824 

Legislature of 1864 324 

Mr. Cornell's first proposal 324 

The struggle in the legislature of 1865 325 

Mr. Cornell's final proposal 825 

Passage of the charter 326 



14 CONTENTS. 

Chapter 5. Universities and Colleges for Men, etc. — Continued. Page. 
Cornell University— Continued. 

The university charter 339 

How ifc was framed . , 329 

The corporate name 329 

The location of the university 330 

General provisions -... 330 

The trustees . ._ .-. -.- 331 

Origin of the idea of Cornell University --. 333 

III. — The Building of the University. 

Preliminary matters — site and buildings 334 

The plan of organization 336 

The choice of a president ..-. .-- 338 

The selection of a faculty 339 

President White's work in Europe 341 

IV. — The Opening of the University. 

The inauguration ceremonies -., 343 

Thefirstyear 344 

V. — The Endowments op the University. 

Ezra Cornell and the land-grant endowment 345 

Management of the grant by the State 346 

First purchase of scrip by Mr. Cornell 346 

Legislation of 1866 347 

Second purchase by Mr. Cornell 347 

Management of the scrip by Mr. Cornell 348 

Attacks upon Mr. Cornell ... 349 

Transfer of the lands to the university 352 

Results of Mr. Cornell's undertaking . . 353 

The land scrip fund 354 

Additional Federal endowments 355 

New York State endowments . ._ 356 

Private endowments 357 

Summary of endowments and gifts _ 360 

VI.— The Departments, Colleges, and Faculties of the University. 

Courses of study 362 

The academic courses in arts and sciences. 362 

The technical and professional courses 364 

Graduate courses 365 

Requirements for admission to courses 366 

The faculties -. 370 

The prof essors .. 371 

Academic department 371 

Technical and professional departments 377 

VII. — The Students of the University. 

Number of students 383 

Admission of women students .. . 385 

Provisions for the accommodation of students 386 



CONTEISTTS. 15 

Chapter 5. Universities and Colleges for Men, etc. — Continued. Pag*. 
Cornell University — Continued, 

Self-support by students 388 

Fellowship and scholarships 391 

College societies ._. _ 393 

Student publications 393 

Student athletics -. _.. 394 

Government of students 395 

VIII.— Through Three Administrations. 

The administration of President White 396 

Educational growth 397 

Material growth . 399 

Religious f eatures_ 4.00 

The McGraw-Fishe will contest 403 

Other features of the administration . _ _ _ . . 405 

. Resignation of President White 406 

The administration of President Adams . 408 

The election of Charles Kendall Adams 408 

Reorganization of departments 408 

Moditication of courses of study 409 

Material growth 410 

Increase in attendance 411 

Increase of the faculty . 413 

Other features ...„ 412 

Resignation of President Adams 414 

The present administration of President Schurman 415 

Bibliography. 421 

19. Syracuse University. 1870: 

Genesee College, 1851, and Geneva Medical College, 

1834 426 

Charter of Syracuse University 423 

Curriculum of the college of liberal arts 426 

Curriculum of the medical college 426 

Curriculum of the college of fine arts . . . _ . 427 

The higher degrees 428 

Government of the university.- 429 

Buildings... . 429 

Libraries and scientific collections 430 

Property, 431 

Faculty 431 

Bibliography 431 

20. St. John's College (Brooklyn) , 1871 432 

21. St. Bonaventure's College, 1875 432 

22. Canisius College, 1883 433 

23. Niagara University, 1883: 

Seminary of Our Lady of the Angels .., 433 

Law school 433 

Medical school 433 

Statistics of students, teachers, and property 433 

24. St. Francis College, 1884: 

Founding and charter , 433 

Course of study 434 

Library 434 



16 COKTENTS. 

Chapter 5. Universities and Colleges for Men, etc. — Continued. Page. 
35. Polyteclinic Institute of Brooklyn, 1890: 

Foundation _ . 435 

Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute, 

1854 _._ 435 

College charter, 1890 435 

Departments 435 

Institute. ._. 435 

Academic department 435 

President Cochran 436 

26. Keuka College, 1890 436 

27. Protestant College at Sao Paulo , 1 891 436 

28. Christian College in China, 1893 436 

29. Adelphi College, 1896 436 

Chapter 6. Universities and Colleges for Women. 

First efforts toward higher education of women in New York 

State 437 

Mrs. Emma Willard and the Troy Female Seminary 437 

1. Elmira College, 1855: 

The first real college for women 438 

Motives for its establishment - _ 438 

First steps toward its organization _ _ . 439 

Auburn Female University 439 

Removal to Elmira, 1853 439 

Charter of Emira Female College, 1855 440 

Early gifts to the college . _ . 440 

Presidency of Dr. Cowles, 1855 440 

Presidency of Dr. Phraner, 1889 , 441 

Presidency of Dr. Van Norden, 1889 441 

Statistics,. 441 

Courses of study 442 

Preparatory department 443 

Art and music 443 

Funds, buildings, etc ... 443 

Chang3 of name to Elmira College, 1890 444 

Presidency of Dr. Green, 1893 444 

2. Ingham University, 1857 444 

Collegiate charter revoked by regents ... 444 

3. Vassar College, 1861: 

How it came into being 446 

The founder's life 447 

His interest in education 447 

His death 447 

Thecharter 448 

Board of trustees 448 

Mr. Vassar"s subsequent bequests 448 

The first president, Professor Jewett . 448 

The college building 448 

Organization 449 

The college opened 450 

Lions in the way .-. .-- 450 

The first prospectus - - 450 

First classes - - - 451 

Preparatory department - 451 



CONTENTS. 17 

Chapter 6. Universities and Colleges for Women, etc.— Continued. Page. 
3. Vassar College — Continued. 

Permanent course of study 451 

Original curriculum _ _ 451 

Present curriculr.m, 1894-85 452 

Candidates for admission .__ 453 

Admission to advanced standing . . 454 

Courses and methods of instruction 455 

Summary of courses. .. . 455 

Description of the courses, by subjects, for fresh- 
man and senior years 455 

Graduate courses . . 463 

Degrees-.- -.. 463 

College buildings 463 

Prof. xMaria Mitc'.iell 464 

Vassar 's presidents . 464 

Presidency of Dr. Raymond, 1864-1878 464 

Bi bliograpliy .... 465 

. 4. Drew Seminary and Female College, 1866: 

Collegiate charter surrendered, 1895 466 

5. Rutgers Female College, 1867: 

The instittite, 1838 466 

The college, 1867 466 

Instructors and students 467 

Charter surrendered, 1895 ..... _ 467 

6. Wells College, 1868: 

Founding . . 467 

Buildings 468 

Presidents of the college 468 

Benefactors .- 469 

Courses of study 469 

Additional facts .. 469 

Presidency of William Everett Waters, Ph. D., 1894. 469 

7. Claverack College, 1889: 

Historical sketch - . 470 

Buildings and grounds 470 

Design 470 

Courses of study 471 

Collegiate charter revoked. . . , _ . 471 

8. Barnard College, 1839: 

' ' The Columbia courses for women " 471 

Charter of Barnard College and early organization _ . 472 

Academic statement ... 473 

Po'.icy and relation to Columbia. ._. 473 

Faculty of philosophy 473 

Faculty of political science 473 

Faculty of pure science. 474 

Degrees 474 

Chapter 7. Professional and Technical Schools. 

Reasons for not giving detailed account . 476 

List of professional and technical schools 477 

The Teachers' College: 

Histor)^ and purpose .. 480 

Courses of study - 480 

3176 2 



18 CONTENTS. 

Chapter 7. Professional and Technical Schools— Contintied. Page. 
The Teachers' College — Continued. 

Introductory courses and terms of admission 481 

School of observation and practice 481 

Alliance with Columbia University 481 

Public opening of the new buildings 481 

Growth and financial status 482 

Aims in future development . 482 

Incorporation with Columbia University 483 

Bibliography 483 

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1826: 

Foundation 484 

Aim of the school 484 

Opening of the school . 484 

First prospectus 484 

Amos Eaton 487 

Department of mathematical arts 488 

First civil engineering prospectus 489 

Death of Amos Eaton 491 

Reorganization of the school . 491 

Name " Rensselaer Polytechnic School " adopted 491 

Methods of instruction . . 492 

Presidents and directors 492 

Requirements for admission . . , 493 

Number and length of terms 493 

Courses of instruction 493 

Civil engineering 494 

Natural science 494 

Mathematics and astronomy ... 495 

Descriptive geometry and stereotomy . _ 495 

Chemistry 495 

Mineralogy, geology, and metallurgy 496 

Physics 496 

Surveying 497 

Geodesy 497 

Highway engineering 497 

Railroad engineering .. . _ 498 

Summer courses 498 

Toxiographical drawing 498 

Rational mechanics 499 

Structures .. 499 

Resistance of materials 499 

Bridges and roofs 500 

Hydraulics and hydraulic motors 500 

Sewerage systems .. . 501 

Steam engineering 501 

Theses 502 

Degrees . . , . . - - 502 

Buildings and property 502 

Library and apparatus ... .- 503 

Number and distribution of graduates 503 

Instructors and students 504 

Bibliography 504 



CONTENTS. ' 19 

Chapter 7. Professional and Technical Schools— Continued. Page. 

Popular colleges and summer schools 505 

Bibliography 505 

Cooper Union. , 505 

Chautauqua University 505 

Pratt Institute ... 505 

Chapter 8. Secondary Schools Comprised in the University: 

General statements 506 

Academies and high schools 506 

Number of students 507 

List of academies 507 

Location by counties of the institutions of the university 510 

APPENDIX. 

1. Origin and development of the New York common-school system. 512 

Intellectual advancement of the people of New York 513 

Common schools promote general intelligence 514 

Qualities of first Dutch immigrants 514 

The Dutch establish free schools 515 

Common schools imported from Holland .., 516 

Latin schools at New Amsterdam 516 

English Government opposed to common schools 517 

Revival of learning at close of the Revolution 518 

Regents propose elementary schools 519 

Gospel and school lands 519 

First statute for an elementary school, 1791 . . 520 

First general statute encouraging elementary schools, 1795 520 

Public School Society of New York City .... 521 

Growth of the system 522 

The rate bill 522 

What has promoted the growth of the common-school system. 523 

State support .. - 523 

Extent and manner of supervision 524 

Eminent superintendents 525 

Necessary authority - 526 

Professional training of teachers _ _ .. 526 

Teachers' classes • ... 527 

Teachers' institutes 527 

Normal schools 527 

Uniform examinations : 528 

Voluntary associations: 

" Society of Associated Teachers," New York City, 1794 529 

Other local associations 530 

First State convention of teachers 530 

Other State conventions , 532 

Permanent organization of "The State Teachers' Association," 

1845 532 

Other associations 533 

Influence of the associations _ .., .". 533 

Small matters .._... 534 

New York leading the nation 534 



20 CONTENTS. 

1. Origin and development of the New York common -school system — Cont'd. Page. 
Appendix (with tables) : 

System of supervision... 536 

State superintendents ... . ... 536 

New York State Teachers' Association 537 

Commissioners and Superintendents' Association 588 

Council of Superintendents - . 538 

Conferences of Associated Academic Principals 538 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Columbia University: Page. 

The New Library ,_. - 168 

The Library (first floor) , 172 

The Library (third floor) 172 

University Hall — • 182 

Plan of the New Site ... 190 

Sche:merhorn Hall 192 

View from Barnard Hall .-. --- 194 

Hamilton College: 

Kirkland Cottage... --- - 230 

Hamilton Oneida Academy - 230 

Eobart Col.ege: 

Hobart College - - 244 

Gymnasium, Observatory, and Library . 246 

New York University: 

Old University, Washington square, 1831-1894 254 

Law School Library, Washington square 264 

New University, Washington square, law and pedagogy . . 268 

Library, University Heights . 274 

Hall of Languages, University Heights. ._ 276 

Colgate University: 

East and West Colleges 278 

Library 282 

Library, grand staircase. _. - 284 

Chemical Laboratory ... 284 

University of Rochester: 

Anderson Hall. 288 

.Reynolds Memorial Laboratory ... 294 

St. Lawrence University: 

College Hall .- 304 

Interior of Library _ 304 

Cornell University: 

Campus, looking north .-.. 318 

Sage College. Women "s Dormitory 358 

Lincoln Hall, civil engineering and architecture 364 

Franklin Hall, physics 374 

Morse Hall, chemistry 376 

Sibley College, mechanical and electrical engineering and mechanic arts. 380 

President White Library of History and Political Science. . . 382 

Armory and Grymnasium. 394 

Sage Chapel and Memorial Chapel 402 

University Library -.- .-. 404 

Reading Room of University Library 408 

21 



22 LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS. 

Elmira College: Pape. 

Elmira College and the college grounds ... 438 

Observatory Hall and Phi Mu Parlor 442 

Vassar College: 

Main Building and Thompson Library . 446 

TheLake - 446 

StrongHall 448 

Observatory 450 

Museum *. . 450 

Alumnae Gymnasium . . — 464 

Laboratorj', physics and chemistry . 464 

Teachers' College: 

Main Building and Mechanic Arts Building _. .. 480 

In the library and a sewing lesson 482 

Wood carving ..- - 482 

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: 

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute , - 484 

Main Building 488 

Chemical Laboratory. .. . 494 

A stronomical Observatory __. 496 

Gymnasium . .- - 503 

Location of institutions. Map 182 



PREFACE. 



This rexDort is not designed as a complete, detailed history of edu- 
cation in New York State, for that would have made the work exces- 
sively voluminous. The aim is rather to point out the most impor- 
tant features of the educational development of the State and upon 
these to lay the larger emphasis. Accordingly the primary-school 
system has been for the most part excluded from consideration, 
an exclusion easy of accomiDlishment owing to the earlier establish- 
ment in New York of the administrative system of higher education 
and to the fact that the "common-school" system, when established, 
was placed under a separate administrative control. 

The peculiar dual administration of education in New York is one 
of its distinctive characteristics. The historic ' ' University of the 
State of New York" was founded in 1784, immediately upon the 
achievement of independence from Great Britain. It was in realitj^ 
the State bureau of education, although in form a private corporation. 
While it was thus an administrative arm of the State government, it 
included at the same time within its corporate existence all the char- 
tered teaching institutions of the State of academic and k. .llegiate 
grade. 

The common-school system of New York was put on a permanent 
basis by the establishment of the State department of public instruc- 
tion in 1854. This, however, was not the beginning of a system of 
primary schools, but rather the culmination of a long historic prog- 
ress, having its origin in the order of the States- General of Holland 
in 1621, that a tax should be laid upon the inhabitants and house- 
holders of New Netherland for the support of a school. The develop- 
ment of the system from this germ until the final adoption in 1867 of 
the ]3rinciple of schools absolutely free to all and supported by gen- 
eral taxation is outlined in an admirable address delivered before the 
New York State Teachers' Association in 1890 by Dr. Andrew S. 
Draper, then superintendent of public instruction in the State of New 
York.^ The influence of the English colonial administration was 
toward ecclesiastical control of education and unfavorable to the pro- 
motion of popular primary schools. 

A new current toward State control and popular education came 

' See appendix where this address is reprinted. 

23 



24 FKEFACE. 

from France in the second half of the eighteenth century, and pre- 
vented ecclesiastical and aristocratic dominance in the establishment 
of the "university" in 1784 and 1787. The regents of the university 
became themselves interested in popular education, and upon their 
initiative "An act for the encouragement of schools" was passed in 
1795, which appropriated 1100,000 a year for five years for the purpose 
of establishing common schools. The law required each township 
(called "town" in ISTew York) to raise by tax half as much as it 
received from the State. The act also provided for elective town 
commissioners of schools and for the organization of school districts 
with elective trustees. This system of town supervision was con- 
tinued till 1856. The general supervision was not put in the hands of 
the university, and in fact there was no State supervision until 1812, 
when a law provided for the appointment of a State superintendent of 
common schools. From 1821 to 1854 the duties of this office were 
attached to the office of the secretary of state, and since that time have 
devolved upon the State superintendent of public instruction. There 
has been supervision also since 1841 by county commissioners, except 
during the interim 1847-1856, and b}^ city officers since 1851 . In a 
word, the common schools of New York have had a separate develop- 
ment from the schools of higher grade, and the separate ideas prevail- 
ing from the beginning in regard to the relation of the State toward 
these two grades of education have resulted in the establishDient of 
two distinct organizations for the administration of the two grades. 

Our concern is with the higher education. The ' ' university " is not a 
teaching institution. It is a branch of the State administration — in fact, 
a State bureau of education, but with certain large legislative powers. 
It is also, in another aspect, the aggregate of the teaching institutions 
of secondary and higher grade. This unique character of the uni- 
versity is one of the chief points of interest in the educational history 
of the State, and it has accordinglj;^ been described in considerable 
detail. A much mooted question has been as to the part which Alex- 
ander Hamilton played in the founding of the university. Tradition 
has long made him the father of this educational system. The writer 
has tried to reach the real truth of this matter, and thinks he has 
established the fact that Hamilton had a large share in the final shap- 
ing of the system so far as the provisions for university or college 
education in New York City are concerned, but that the provisions 
for academies and colleges throughout the State — the care of local 
educational interests — are chiefly due to Ezra L'Hommedieu. It is 
clear, moreover, that in the original university law of May, 1784, with 
the supplementary act of November in the same year, there is no 
appearance of the activity of either of these rival parents of the uni- 
versity. In the definitive reorganization of 1787 they were both active 
and leadei'S in the attempt to secure the passage of riA^al bills. This 
rivalry ended in compromise, and it can not be truthfully claimed 



PREFACE. 25 

that either Hamilton or L'Hommedieu was the author of the educa- 
tional system, which took on many of its permanent features in the 
earlier legislation with which neither of these men was connected. 

Another interesting feature of the s^^stem is the influence of Euro- 
pean ideas. The revolt against clerical control of education, which 
was so marked a feature of the liberal movement in France in the 
second half of the eighteenth century, and with which were associated 
the ideas of State control and of the centralization of the educational 
sj^stem, was enacted into the New York university law of 1787. 

The development of higher education in New York is notable for 
the lack of any university or college of reallj'^ dominating control or 
prominence throughout the State, such as Harvard, Yale, and Prince- 
ton in the neighboring States. Had it not been for the simultaneous 
growth of Cornell University during these later j^ears, Columbia might 
now hold such a position, but her rejuvenescence came too late to 
secure unrivaled leadership. There was, however, in the earlier years 
a marked excellence in several of the smaller colleges. The earlier 
half of the history of Union College would honor any country in the 
world, and in the number of able and distinguished graduates Hamil- 
ton College holds an enviable place. 

In some respects the achievements of the university have fallen 
below its promise. Unfortunatelj^ the movement for common schools 
developed independently, and, as elsewhere in the New World, the 
vital interest of the people was in primary education. If the control 
of the common schools had been committed to the regents, there can 
be little doubt that a symmetrical sj^stem of education from the low- 
est to the highest grades, with unified administration and oversight, 
would have resulted early in the century; that a quicker life would 
have been infused into the higher education, and that much of the 
damning influence of ' ' politics " would have been kept out of the com- 
mon-school system. The regents serve without pay, and are appointed 
by tha legislature in the same manner as the Senators of the United 
States. The board has in consequence been always composed of men 
of the highest character and attainment, while the role played by pol- 
itics has been exceedingly small. The board began under the first 
law with the actual control of the internal affairs of the colleges. 
They were really trustees for all the educational institutions in the 
university. The law of 1787 gave to the separate colleges their own 
trustees and their autonomy, while leaving to the regents the jpower 
of granting new charters, of oversight, and of directing the general 
educational polic}^ The most justifiable charge against the conduct 
of the regents is that of apathy. It was not until recent times that 
they fully appreciated the possibilities of the power they possessed or 
were seized with real ambition to use it. This was due, in my opinion, 
chiefly to the fact already spoken of, that the time was not ripe for 
large and vigorous activity in the organization of higher education. 



26 PEEFACE. 

Cut off as they were from the strong undercurrents of the educational 
movement that resulted in the common-school system, they were 
simply forced to wait till the need for a comprehensive organization 
of higher education became imperative. With the growth of true 
university teaching in America this great State sj^stem of higher edu- 
cation has awakened to the activities for which it was designed. The 
university, however, accomplished many important things. It began 
the agitation for common schools which resulted in the law of 1795. 
In 1833 it arranged for teachers' classes in academies, which was one 
of the earliest attempts toward normal schools in this country. 

In the granting of charters to academies and colleges the regents 
have endeavored to set a high standard of attainment and financial 
equipment and to thwart attempts to obtain special legislative char- 
ters by weak institutions. In 1864 they instituted general examina- 
tion in the academies as a basis for the apportionment of State funds. 
This system has steadily raised the standard of work in the academies 
and brought it nearer to uniformity. The yearly reports of the 
regents to the legislature are comprehensive and detailed statistics 
of all the colleges and academies in the State, and have done much to 
keep up the standard of equipment and work in the teaching institu- 
tions. Since 1863 an annual educational convention, called the "con- 
vocation," has been held at Albany, in which the teaching institutions 
of the university are represented, in which educational topics are 
discussed and policies formulated. The regents have likewise in- 
augurated a system of university-extension lectures and of local and 
traveling libraries, which bring wider educational facilities within 
reach of many people unable to attend an academy or college. In their 
care of the State library and of the State Museum of Natural History, 
as well as in certain scientific inquiries undertaken by them, the regents 
have performed valuable services for the State. One of the most nota- 
ble, as well as latest, achievements of the university has been the 
enforcement of high standards of professional training. This has 
been effected not only by their power of regulation of the terms upon 
which charters shall be given to institutions and upon which degrees 
shall be conferred, but also by the prescribing of examinations which 
candidates for the right to practice law and medicine must pass. 
In this thej^ are leading conspicuously in a much-needed reform. 
There has always been jealousy on the part of some of the teaching 
institutions of the large powers of regulation and oversight in the 
hands of the regents, but wisdom on the part of the regents and atten- 
tion to their own particular needs by the colleges have prevented 
serious clashing "in the open." There has likewise been friction at 
times between the two branches of educational administration — the 
university and the department of public instruction — and at times the 
life of the university has been in danger. It is not unnatural that 
certain elements in the political life of the State should want to bring 



PREi^ACE. 27 

the higher educational system tinder more direct political influence, 
and the department of public instruction has been at times willing to 
absorb the functions of the university. These difficulties have, how- 
ever, lately tended to disappear, and a powerful movement is on foot 
which promises to bring organic harmony into the whole educational 
system of the State. 

The sketches of the various colleges and universities comprised in 
the university have been in most instances prepared under the author- 
ization of the institutions themselves. No attempt has been made to 
give the history of the academies, and, unfortunately, it is not possible 
here to give an adequate account of the admirable work accomplished 
by these institutions of secondary education. Not merely the incor- 
porated academies upon private foundation, but the high schools and 
the academic departments of union schools have furnished excellent 
opportunities throughout the State for the work preliminary to the 
college. 

It has likewise not been feasible to attempt in this volume an account 
of the multitude of special institutions in law, medicine, theology, 
and in the mechanic and technical arts which have carried on their 
work, many of them in the front rank of institutions of their class. A 
list of such institutions will be found in a special chapter. 

There is another class of institutions which the writer has ignored — 
popular colleges, such as Chautauqua University, Cooper Institute, 
and the like. These are listed in a special chapter, with references to 
their bibliography. 

If exception be made of the unique administrative organization of 
higher education in New York — the universitj^ itself — it may perhaps 
be said that the greatest contributions of the State to education are 
in the field of the common schools rather than of higher education. 
I refer in this connection to the enthusiastic, but not greatly exagger- 
ated, summary of the work of New York in primary-school education 
in Superintendent Draper's address.^ 

The present activity of the university is well described in the fol- 
lowing official statement: 

UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. 

Object. — The object of the university as defined by law is to encour- 
age and promote education in advance of the common elementary 
branches. Its field includes not only the work of academies, colleges, 
universities, professional and technical schools, but also educational 
work connected with libraries, museums, university-extension courses, 
and similar agencies. 

The university is a supervisory and administrative, not a teaching 

' See Appendix. 



28 PKEFACE. 

institution. It is a State department and at the same time a federa- 
tion of more than 800 institutions of higher and secondary education. 

Government. — The university is governed and all its corporate 
powers exercised by 19 elective regents and by the governor, lieutenant- 
governor, secretary of state, and superintendent of public instruction, 
who are ex officio regents. Regents are elected in the same manner 
as United States Senators; they are unsalaried, and are the only publiq 
officers in New York chosen for life. 

The elective officers are a chancellor and a vice-chancellor, wh( 
serve without salary, and a secretary. The secretary is the executive 
and financial officer, is under official bonds for 110,000, is responsible 
for the safe-keeping and proiDcr use of the university seal and of th< 
books, records, and other property in charge of the regents, and foi 
the proper administration and discipline of its various offices an 
departments. 

Poioers and duties. — Besides many other important powers an^ 
duties, the regents have power to incorporate and to alter or revoke 
the charters of universities, colleges, academies, libraries, museums 
or other educational institutions ; to distribute to them funds granted 
by the State for their use; to inspect their workings and requir^ 
annual reports under oath of their presiding officers; to establish 
examinations as to attainments in learning, and confer on successful 
candidates suitable certificates, diplomas, and degrees, and to confer 
honorary degrees. 

They apportion annually an academic fund of about $250,000, part 
for buying books and apparatus for academies and high schools rais- 
ing an equal amount for the same purpose, $100 to each nonsectarian 
secondary school in good standing, and the remainder on the basis of i 
attendance and the results of instruction as shown by satisfactory I 
completion of prescribed courses for which the regents' examinations^! 
afford the official test. The regents also expend annually $25,000 for 
the benefit of free public libraries. 

Regents' meetings. — The annual meeting is held the third Thursday 
in December, and other meetings are held as often as business 
requires. An executive committee of nine regents is elected at the 
annual meeting to act for the board in the intervals between its meet- 
inirs, except that it can not grant, alter, suspend, or revoke charters 
or grant honorar}^ degrees. 

Convocation. — ^The university convocation of the regents and the 
officers of institutions in the university, for consideration of subjects -, 
of mutual interest, has been held annually since 1863 in the senate ' 
chamber in Albany. It meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday 
after the fourth Friday in June. 

Though primarily a New York meeting, nearly all questions dis- 
cussed are of equal interest outside the State. Its reputation as one 
of the important higher educational meetings of the country has in the 



PEEFACE. 29 

past few years drawn to it many eminent educators not residents of 
New York, who are most cordially welcomed and share fully in all 
discussions. It elects each year a council of five to represent it in 
intervals between meetings. Its proceedings, issued annually, are of 
great value in all educational libraries. 

DEPARTMENTS. 

1. Admimstrative {regents' office). — Including incorporation, super- 
vision, inspection, reports, legislation, finances, and all other work 
not assigned to another department. 

Duplicate division. — This is a State clearing house, to which any 
institution in the university may send books or apparatus which it 
no longer requires, and select from it in return an ecj[ual value suited 
to its locality and needs. 

2. Examination. — Including preacademic, law, medical, dental, and 
veterinary student; academic, higher, law, medical, dental, veteri- 
nary, library, extension, and any other examinations conducted by 

' the regents, and also credentials or degrees conferred on examination. 
The examinations are conducted as the best lever for securing bet- 
ter work from teachers and more systematic and continuous study 
from students, and as the best means of detecting and eliminating 
inefficient teachers or methods. They cover 140 subjects, and required 
last year 1,045,950 question papers (exclusive of bound volumes), and 
are held the week ending the last Friday in January and March and 
the third Friday in June, in the 602 academies and high schools in 
the university and also at various central points where there are 10 
or more candidates. 

3. Extension. — Including summer, vacation, evening, and corre- 
spondence schools and other forms of extension teaching, lecture 
courses, study clubs, reading circles, and other agencies for the pro- 
motion and wider extension of opportunities and facilities for educa- 
tion, specially for those unable to attend the usual teaching institu- 
tions. 

Public libraries division. — To promote the general library interests 
of the State, which through it apportions and expends $25,000 a year 
for the benefit of free public libraries. Under its charge are the 
traveling libraries for lending to local libraries or to communities not 
yet having permanent libraries. 

The most important factor of the extension movement is provision 
of the best reading for all citizens by means of traveling, home, and 
capitol libraries, and annotated lists through the public libraries 
division. 

4-. State library. — Including general, law, medical, and education 
libraries, library school, bibliographic publications, lending books to 
students, and similar library interests. 



30 PREFACE. 

Library school. — The law authorizes the State library to give 
instruction and assistance in organizing and administering libraries. 
Students receive from the State library staff, in return for services 
rendered to the librarj'- during their two years' course, careful train- 
ing in library economy, bibliography, cataloguing, classification, and 
other duties of professional librarianship. 

5. State museum. — Including all scientific specimens and collections, 
works of art, objects of historic interest, and similar property appro- 
priate to a general museum, if owned by the State and not placed in 
other custody by a specific law; also the research department, carried 
on by the State geologist and paleontologist, botanist, and entomolo- 
gist, and all similar scientific interests of the university." 

Sidney Shervv^ood, 
Johns Hopkins University. 






PART I. 

UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK; ORIGIN, 
HISTORY, AND PRESENT ORGANIZATION.^ 



By Sidney Sherwood, Ph. D. , Associate Professor of Political Economy, Johns 

Hopkins University. 



INTRODUCTION. 

The system of higher education in New York is one of great interest 
to the students of State educational institutions. It has the interest of 
age and of historic incident, for it is closely connected with the whole 
development of the State. The distinguished men who aided in found- 
ing it, and their distinguished successors in its control, give to its his- 
tory that interest which springs from association with conspicuous 
personality. But it is the greatness of the work achieved by this 
system in the development of the educational life of the State which 
chiefly entitles it to be studied. And yet the boundaries of the Com- 
monwealth do not bound the historic or the practical importance of 
the university. 

The American colonies were profoundly influenced during the latter 
half of the eighteenth century by the new educational ideas with 
which revolutionary France conquered the nineteenth century. The 
New York system shows abundant traces of this influence, and itself 
has become a source of an influence which has spread to the Pacific 
on the one hand and back to Europe on the other, 

' ABBREVIATIOISrS. 

New York (State) — University. Re- Reg. rep't [followed by number of re- 
gents' report, port and year in parentheses; e. g., 

Reg. rep't, 103 (1889)]. 
/New York (State) — University. Pro- Conv, proc. 
ceedings of the university convoca- 
tion. 
New York (State) — University. His- Hist, record, 
torical and statistical record, by F. B. 
Hough. 
New York (State) — Public instruction, Sup't's rep't [followed by number of re- 
superintendent of. Annual reports. port and year in parentheses] . 
New York legislative papers. N. Y. leg. papers, 

31 



32 HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

New York a leader in innovation. — New York has always been a 
leader among the States in the practical methods and organization of 
progressive change, whether in politics, in finance, in commerce, in law, 
or in education. The commercial adroitness and activity of the city 
were strongly marked even under the Dutch regime. The plan for 
securing paper money issues by national banks was carried to Wash- 
ington by Secretary Chase, from New York, where it had been in 
operation for a quarter of a century. Nearly every movement toward 
the organization of a new political party in the United States has had 
its source and center in New York. From Aaron Burr to the present 
time New York has been the pivot around which revolved the political 
destiny of aspirants to high office in the nation. Nowhere else has the 
spoils system in politics, this nineteenth century survival of the old 
Teutonic comitatus, received so splendid an illustration of its efficiency 
as a machine for party control as in New York. 

Not even to Massachusetts does New York yield place in the num- 
ber and value of her legal reforms, whether in substantive law or in 
procedure. In the abolition of feudal tenures, of the old cumbersome 
methods of conveyance of real property, and in the simplification of 
pleadings and procedure New York has led the way. But these are 
only instances. Within thirty years England has introduced two most 
beneficent innovations in her law, viz, the abolition of separate chan- 
cery courts and of the disabilities of married women in regard to the 
ownership of property and the conduct of business. New York antici- 
pated England more than twenty years in these reforms. In the codi- 
fication of law, also, New York has given the impulse which is gradu- 
ally transforming the legal systems of this country. 

"Innovation," says Henry Adams, speaking of the early years of 
this century, ' ' was the most useful purpose which New York could 
serve in human interest, and never was a city better fitted for its 
work."^ 

Plan and scope of the ivork. — The commercial and political impor- 
tance of the city tends to overshadow the achievements of the Com- 
monwealth in other fields of activity. The University of the State of 
New York is an innovation in educational organization which deserves 
to be better known. It is the aim of the writer to make this system 
better known. He has attempted, by a careful outline of the organ- 
ization and work of this universitj^, to show what this State is doing 
for the higher education of its people, and what has been the influ- 
ence of its system and its activity upon the progress of higher educa- 
tion in other States and countries. The University of the State of 
New York, comprising, as it does, all the chartered colleges and sec- 
ondary schools in the State, is an institution unique in its organiza- 
tion and in its methods of work. The writer believes that he has 
thrown new light upon the beginning of the university and has shown 

'Adams, Henry B. History of the United States of America, v. 1, p. 113. 



INTRODUCTION. 33 

its international origin. It was but one result of a great movement 
in educational reform which in the latter part of the eigliteenth cen- 
tury swept over continental Europe and America. He has at the 
same time pointed out the particular causes which led New York to 
work out her peculiar system, a system admirably adapted to the 
needs of the State, and a model which has suggested many reforms 
bej^ond the boundaries of the Commonwealth. The Empire State has 
no prouder or juster claim to greatness than her imperial university. 

The period from the organization of the university (1784-87) until the 
beginning of its later increased activity with the law of 1889 has been 
very hurriedly passed over. This period has been treated fully and 
ably in a publication jDrepared under the auspices of the regents of 
the university, at the time of their centennial celebration in 1884' — 
a work to which the writer is greatly indebted for its valuable collec- 
tions of facts and the suggestiveness of its historical comments. The 
later activity of the university has been more fuUj^ treated in this 
monograx^h. The revision and codification of the laws relating to the 
university in 1889, and the extension of its powers thereunder, as 
well as the present plans and prospects of the university, have been 
carefully studied by the writer, who has made some suggestions as to 
a further extension of the work of higher education by the uni- 
versity. 

In April, 1892, a new university law was enacted, the purpose of 
which was to revise and consolidate the laws relating to the univer- 
sity. It has also revised the general legislation relating to the colleges. 
It thus covers a wider field than the law of 1889, and might well be 
called a "code of higher education." 

It repeals the most of former laws relating to higher education. It 
stands thus as the compact embodiment of that historic evolution 
which the writer has attempted to trace in this narrative. As such 
it has seemed best to print it in full as an appendix. This volume 
thus serves as an historic introduction to the law of 1892, which must 
be the starting point of all new developments. The structure, powers, 
and methods of the university itself remain substantially unaltered. 
The analysis of the law of 1889 which the writer has given will there- 
fore be intelligible to the reader of the law of 1892, and will in turn 
help to make clear the scope and meaning of the latest law. There 
are two features in the law of 1892 which clearly show the newer spirit 
of progress in this old historic university. One is the remarkable 
emphasis given to libraries as an agency in higher education; the 
other is the incorporation of university extension as a regular and 
permanent department of the university work. 

^N. Y. (State) — University. Historical and statistical record, 1784-1884, by 
Franklin B. Hough; with an introductory sketch by David Murray. Ph. D., 
LL. D., secretary of the regents, Albany, 1885. 
3176 3 



34 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YOKE. 

CHAPTER 1. 

OUTLINE OF THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF EDUCATION IN NEW YORK, 

New York has a system of education which is complex and without 
theoretic unity — a system, in fact, without system. In its practical 
working, however, there is a real unity. Like the English constitution 
it is the result of historic growth, and the practical gifts of the people 
have made possible the harmonious, efficient management of what 
would seem like an ill-contrived machine, were it the contrivance of 
a single mind or a single legislature. 

Private schools. — The State exercises no monopoly of education. 
While every college, academy, and private school is in a very impor- 
tant sense a State institution, yet there has always existed complete 
freedom of instruction. Splendid work has been done by a multitude 
of unchartered institutions, unaided by public money, subject to no 
visitation or control by public authority. It is, however, a settled 
policy of the State that all chartered institutions of learning shall be 
considered as parts of the State system, and while allowed virtually 
complete self-government in internal administration, shall yet be held 
accountable to the State for the proper performance of their duties. 
With the strictly private schools the present inquiry has no concern. 

State educational systems. — There are two distinct, coordinated 
systems of public education in New York, occupying different fields, 
organized uj)on different plans, working in great part without refer- 
ence to each other, and yet in a few points vitally connected. It will 
be seen later on how this anomalous dual system originated. At pres- 
ent a clear statement of the constitution and scope of each is needed 
to render plain the lines of this historic inquiry. 

1. Department of Public Instruction, or Common-School System. 

For purposes of primary instruction the State is divided into 
112 ^ school-commissioner districts. All cities except Kingston are 
excluded from this division. These districts are subdivided into 
school districts, the number varying according to the needs of each 
locality. 

The cities, with the above exception, and a few incorporated villages 
have school organizations established by special statutes, under the 
supervision of local superintendents.^ 

School districts. — The school district is the smallest territorial divi- 
sion of the State. The qualified voters of the school district elect at 
district meetings one or three trustees, who are the " local executive 
officers empowered to carry out the mandates of the district meetings." 
They have to report annually to the district meeting and to the school 

1 In 1884. 2 Sup'f s rep't, SOtli (1884), p. 5. 



PRESENT SYSTEM OF EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 35 

commissioners. The district meeting elects a clerk, collector, and a 
librarian. This system secures thus the most minute local self- 
government in the matter of the primary schools. 

Union free school districts. — Under a general law passed in 1853 
school districts are authorized to combine into "union free school 
districts" and to establish graded schools, to be maintained by a gen- 
eral tax. These schools are under the management of elective boards 
of education with similar powers to those of district trustees. They 
report to the school commissioners. This plan has been generally 
adopted in villages, thereby securing a higher grade of education. 
These union free schools are important as being the main point of 
contact between the two sj^stems of public instruction. 

School commissioners. — The electors of each school commissioner's 
district elect triennially, at a general election, a school commissioner. 
This officer lays out and regulates the boundaries between school dis- 
tricts, apportions the public money allotted to his district by the 
State superintendent, and in general exercises a constant and minute 
supervision over all matters relating to the school districts within his 
jurisdiction. School commissioners have advisory powers with school 
district trustees and in some few matters compulsory powers. They 
examine and license teachers within their districts, and examine and 
recommend candidates for appointment as students in the normal 
schools. They are required to make annual reports to the State 
superintendent ' ' containing a complete abstract of all the material 
facts, statistical and financial, required and^ contained in all the 
trustees' reports to the commissioners," as well as observations and 
suggestions on their own part or in response to special inquiries from 
the superintendent. 

City puhlic schools. — "The city public schools and those in some of 
the incorporated villages having a population of not less than 5,000 
are managed by local boards of education under special statutes." In 
some cities and villages these schools are under the supervision, not 
of school commissioners, but of special local superintendents, who 
report both to the local boards and to the State superintendent. 

State superintendent ofpiiblic instruction. — This educational division 
and organization of the State has no vital relation to the political 
system of the county and township subdivision. Territorially and 
personallj^ this educational system is independent and complete in 
itself. The minute local self-government in the school districts 
is counterbalanced by the centralization of power in the State super- 
intendent of public instruction. This State oificer is intrusted with 
powers of a character almost autocratic. He is elected by the joint 
ballots of the senate and'assembly, and holds office for three years. 
This office has existed since 1854, when the department of public 

iStip"t's rep't, 30th (1884), p. 8. 



36 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

instruction was organized upon its present basis. ^ Besides appointing 
the working force in his own bureau, ' ' he makes appointments of 
State pupils to the institution for the instruction of the deaf and dumb 
and the blind, upon the certificates of the proper local officers, 
. . . and has charge of all the Indian schools upon the several 
Indian reservations^ and appoints their superintendents. He appor- 
tions and distributes the public money appropriated by the legislature 
for the support of schools," amounting to more than $4,000,000 
annually. " He compiles the abstracts of the reports from all the 
school districts in the State reported to him by the school commis- 
sioners, and the matters reported to him by city superintendents, 
boards of education of incorporated villages organized by special 
statutes providing for local supervision, and reports annually to the 
legislature." 

He has general supervision over all the agencies for the training of 
teachers. The system for the training of public school teachers is, in 
theory, a complete one. There are: 

Uniform examinations. Academic teachers classes. 

Teachers' institutes. Normal schools." 

Uniform examinations for teachers' certificates. — While teachers' 
licenses are issued upon examination by school commissioners and 
other local officers, such licenses are valid only within the district of 
such examining officer. State certificates are issued only upon exami- 
nations conducted by examiners appointed by the State superintend- 
ent, who also, "with the assistance of the regular corps of institute 
instructors, prepares the examination questions to be used in such 
examinations. " ^ He also regulates the grades of the certificates issued 
by school commissioners. 

Tea.chers'' institutes. — These popular training classes are held annu- 
SkWy in each school commission district and are attended by a total of 
about 20,000 teachers. The usual length of the session is one week. 
The State superintendent has the control of these institutes, appoint- 
ing the regular and special instructors and directing the work. 

Teachers'' classes in academies. — The act above referred to, which 
authorized the consolidation of several school districts into "union 
free school districts," also authorized the establishment in these union 
schools of "academic departments." These academic departments 
were regarded as of equal grade with the academies which were under 
the supervision of the university, and hence, being a part of the system 

'Laws of 1854, ch. 97. Sup't's rep't, 30th (18S4), pp. 5-58. Sup'fs rep't, ;Wd 
(1886), pp. 5-72. These two reports taken together give a valuable account of the 
organization and working of the department of public instruction. 

•-'Sup'fs rep't, 30th (1884), p. 11. 

•'There is also in New York City a "College for the training of teachers," but 
this is a part of the university and is connected only with higher education. 

" Sup't's rep't, 32d (1886) , p. 9. 



PEESENT SYSTEM OF EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 37 

of secondary instruction, were made subject to the visitation and con- 
trol, not of the State superintendent, but of the regents of the univer- 
sity. In 1834 the regents were authorized to establish in the academies 
classes for the training of teachers, which classes have been main- 
tained ever since in academies, and also since 1877 in the academic 
departments of union schools. In 1888 there were 3,258 pupils in these 
classes who attended over ten weeks, and 2,676 who completed the full 
course of sixteen weeks. They are regarded as "about the only 
instrumentality for training teachers for our ungraded schools." ^ 

By a law passed April 15, 1889,^ " the powers and duties conferred 
and imposed upon the regents of the university by ' previous acts ' 
relative to the instruction of classes in academies and union schools in 
the science and practice of common-school teaching are herebj" trans- 
ferred to the superintendent of public instruction." This law was the 
result of some deliberation on the part of the regents and the associa- 
tion of academic principals, and was passed upon being recommended 
by the regents in their report to the legislature.^ Its object was to 
bring under a single management all the instrumentalities for the 
preparation of common-school teachers. This transfer included the 
management of the annual appropriation of $30,000 for maintaining 
the teachers' classes. In 1890 the annual appropriation was increased 
to $60,000.* 

Normal scJiools. — There are now 1 1 of these State schools. The oldest 
of these, the Albany State normal school, was founded in 1844, and 
placed under the joint management of the sujDerintendent of common 
schools (since 1854, the superintendent of public instruction) and the 
regents of the university. ' ' The local management of the latter school 
(the Albany State normal school) is vested in an executive committee 
consisting of five members, of whom the State superintendent is one, 
and the other four are appointed by the joint action of the State super- 
intendent and the regents of the university."^ On March 13, 1890, 
the regents made this school "the New York State Normal College," 
and its work has been reorganized upon a higher basis, instructing 
only advanced pupils and being exclusively a normal training school,^ 
whose graduates receive the degree of bachelor of pedagogy. 

The other ten State normal schools are entireU under the direction 
of the State superintendent. They are governed by local boards 
appointed by him, and he also appoints the teachers in these schools 
upon nomination by the local boards. The normal schools, besides 

' Reg. rep't, 103 (1889), p. 821. 

2 Laws of 1889, ch. 137. 

■' Reg. rep't, 103 (1889), p. 27, 268. 

■> Laws of 1890, ch. 170. 

■'Sup't's rep't. 82d (1886), p. 7. 

•^ Draper, Andrew S. Origin and development of the New York common school 
system. — An address delivered before the New York State Teachers' Association 
at Saratoga Springs, July 8, 1890. 



38 HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

the normal departments in which the technical training of teachers is 
carried on, undertake also a general instruction of an academic char- 
acter, which has been rather a hindrance than a benefit to the devel- 
opment of the normal training. The State superintendent " appoints, 
on the recommendation of school commissioners and city superin- 
tendents of schools, the pupils in the normal department of the several 
State normal schools, subject to a preliminary entrance examination 
by the faculties of such schools." ^ 

These schools report to the State superintendent, and each local 
board is " subject to his general supervision and direction in all things 
pertaining to the school." 

This hurried sketch of the chief powers of the superintendent of 
public instruction shows a remarkable centralization in the hands 
of the single head of the State department of public instruction. 
While school trustees, school commissionei's, city superintendents, and 
boards of education are elective and local taxation is voted in the 
various districts, yet all these local officers are under the super- 
vision of the State superintendent and the State money is distrib- 
uted by him. To these executive powers are added an extraordinary 
judicial power which makes the centralizing tendency effective and 
complete. 

. Judicial poiuers of the State superintendent of public instruction. — 
The State superintendent is the final arbiter in all disputes concern- 
ing school matters. Not only has he an advisory power which is 
systematically and laboriously exercised "through the medium of 
correspondence by mail, or through oral conferences between the 
superintendent or his deputy and school officers, teachers, parents, 
and others coming to the department from various parts of the 
State," ^ but he acts as a court of final appeal with power to enforce 
his decision. "Any person feeling himself aggrieved in consequence 
of any decision made " by school district meetings, school commis- 
sioners, supervisors, district trustees, and other officers in regard to 
any matter under the school laws ' ' may appeal to the superintendent 
of public instruction." Thus the very sanctum of local self-govern- 
ment, the district meeting, is invaded by the central authority of the 
State. The superintendent in this capacity establishes rules of prac- 
tice, issues injunctions, and makes all necessary orders. Councils 
are heard before him. Th6 questions involved on their appeal touch 
all branches of the civil law, of the State constitutional law, real estate 
law, the law of contracts, the law of wills, and the like. Hence there 
is conferred upon the superintendent an aj^pellate judicial authority 
coordinate with that of the court of appeals in some respects, for the 
law declares that "his decision shall be final and conclusive, and not 
subject to question or review in any place or court whatever."^ 

' Sup't's rep't, 32d (1886) , p. 7. - Ibid. pp. 12-13. ^ Laws of 1864. 



PEESENT SYSTEM OF EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 39 

And this clesj)otic judicial authority has the amplest means of 
enforcing its decisions. The superintendent has — 

' ' First, the power to compel the assessment and collection of taxes 
in a school district to pay proper demands against the district. 
Second, the power to remove from office any school trustee, or mem- 
ber of a board of education of a union free school district, or other 
school officer, for anj^ willful violation or neglect of duty under the 
school statutes, or for willfully disobeying any decision, order, or regu- 
lation of the superintendent."^ This extreme centralization in the 
system of primary instruction has worked undeniably well. How- 
ever democratic in her political philosophy New York may be, the 
histor}^ of her common schools as well as of her university shows that 
she has imperialist instincts. The Empire State is not a mere name 
of fancy. ^ 

Siqjerintendent of public instruction and the university. — It has 
already been seen how in the control of the ' ' New York State normal 
college," and of the academic departments of union free schools, the 
department of public instruction and the university are brought into 
direct and organic cooperation. There are other points of contact 
between the s^^stems of higher and of primary instruction. The State 
superintendent is, ex officio, a regent of the university, a trustee of 
Cornell Universitj^ and of Syracuse University. 

2. The University of the State of New York, or the System of Higher 

Education. 

University act of 1889. — In the year 1889 ^ the legislature of New 
York passed a law entitled "An act to revise and consolidate the laws 
relating to the university of the State of New York." 

This act in the words of the regents* "consolidates 50 pages of laws 
which have grown up during the past century pertaining to the 
regents' department, into a single clear laAV of only 7 pages. Besides 
codifying the old laws, the ncAV act has defined and enlarged the 
powers of the university, and has put new safeguards and restrictions 
on the exercise of those powers." An analysis of this law will give 

'Sup't's rep't, 32d (1886), p. 13. 

^ The policy of State support and State control of the common school system has 
been on the whole very efficient. The address of Superintendent Draper, above 
referred to, contains an admirable statement of what has been done by New 
York in these matters. In the year 1889-90 over §17.000,000 were raised by State 
and local taxation for the common schools. Local authorities can exercise the 
right of eminent domain in the acquisition of school sites. State supervision 
began in 1812, when the office of " State superintendent of common schools " was 
created. From 1821 to 1854 the secretary of state performed the duties of this 
office. Supervision by district or county officers has existed from 1841 to the 
present time, excepting the years between 1847 and 1856. From 1795 till 1856 
there was also supervision by township officers. 

^Lawsof 1889, ch. 529. 

4Reg. rep't, 103 (1889), p. 30. 



40 HISTORY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 



the best understanding of the organization and work of the university. 
It is difficult to place this university in any known category of institu- 
tions. In its origin it had the form of an English educational corpo- 
ration; but upon it were ingrafted the powers and functions of a 
modern State department of education. It was the first successful 
realization, in practical form, of the plans of the French parliamen- 
tarians and encyclopedists for a system of education unified and har- 
monized under State control. It was not a full realization. It was at 
first a rude machine. But it worked, and a century of use and 
improvement has perfected it. Its original character it still retains. 
It is in form a private corporation, but with no private privileges. 
Its private activities are for public ends. Its duties and responsibili- 
ties are chiefly those of a bureau of State administration. It is a 
State department of higher education, organized under the form of a 
private corporation. 

Tlie university in form a private corporation. — "The university 
shall consist of all the institutions of academic and higher education 
which are now or may hereafter be incorporated in this State, together 
with the State library and State museum, and such other libraries, 
museums or other institutions for higher education as may, in con- 
formity with the ordinances of the regents, after official inspection, be 
admitted to the university." ^ 

From this section of the university act it might seem that the uni- 
versitj^ was simply a system of federated colleges like Oxford or 
Cambridge, with the colleges, however, scattered throughout the 
State instead of being collected in the same town. It is the relation 
of the system to the State which makes the vital difference. The 
whole vast system is constituted an arm of State government. Besides 
the State library and State museum, there are in the university 649 
institutions.^ These are 549 academies, high schools, and academic 
departments, and 100 colleges and professional schools, viz, 22 col- 
leges of arts and science for men, 6 for women, and 4 for men and 
women, 7 law schools, 15 medical schools, 13 theological schools, 4 
schools of pedagogy, and 29 other institutions. The last item includes 
schools of technolog}^, pharmacy, dentistry, music, etc. 

The term ' ' college " is defined in the act to ' ' include all institutions 
of higher education which are authorized to confer degrees," and the 
term "academy" to "include high schools, academic departments of 
union schools, and all other schools for higher education which are 
not authorized to confer degrees. " The university therefore embraces 
all incorporated institutions for higher and secondary instruction in 
the State. The department of public instruction, on the other hand, 
embraces in its system all schools for primary instruction and for the 
technical training of primary school teachers. 

The original corporate name of the university was "The Regents of 

^Laws of 1889, chapter 529. '^ Status June 30, 1896. 



\ 



PKESENT SYSTEM OF EDUCATION IN KEW YORK. 41 

the University of the State of New York." The act of 1889 changed 
this name to "University of the State of New York" and conferred 
upon the university the usual general powers of a corporation. 

The government of the university is vested in 19 elective regents, 
and the governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, and super- 
intendent of public instruction, who are regents ex officio. The regents 
elect their own officers, a chancellor, a vice-chancellor, who serve with- 
out salary, and a secretary, who is also the ' ' financial officer of the 
university." The college''s and academies composing the university 
have no representation in the governing board. Indeed, it is provided 
that "no person shall be at the same time a regent of the university 
and a trustee, president, principal, or any other officer of any institu- 
tion belonging to the university."^ 

The government of the university is imperial, not federative. This 
differentiates it at once and completely from the English universities. 
A truer English analogy would be in the government which Great 
Britain exercises over her colonies. They are parts of the Empire. 
They govern themselves, but they have no voice in the government 
of the whole. 

The university has many of the powers of an ordinary educational 
corporation. The regents are authorized to confer honorarj^ degrees, 
to establish examinations and grant diplomas and degrees thereon, 
and "to maintain lectures connected with higher education." They 
"have power to adopt all needed resolutions, rules, by-laws, and ordi- 
nances for the accomplishment of the trusts reposed in them." They 
may hold and buy, or sell, both lands and chattels. All their cor- 
porate powers are, however, public trusts. 

The university in fact a State bureau of higher education. — The 
object of the university is declared to be "to encourage and promote 
academic and higher education by means of the several institutions 
composing the university, to visit and inspect the same, to distribute 
to them such funds as the State may appropriate for their use, and to 
perform such other duties as may be intrusted to it." 

The regents have entire control of the State library and the State 
museum. They are charged with the "preparation, loublication, and 
distribution " of various State publications and with the apportion- 
ment of public money to the academies. They are required "to estab- 
lish in the academies of the university examinations in such studies 
as the regents shall prescribe as furnishing a suitable standard of 

' This provision is violated by the fact that the governor and lieutenant-governor 
of the State and the superintendent of public instruction are made ex officio mem- 
bers at once of the board of regents and of the board of trustees of Cornell Uni- 
versity, although the old law is not so stringent in its vs^ording as the above. The 
real intent of the law is not violated, which was to exclude private influence of 
particular colleges. A State officer might well be expected to look at matters from 
the State and not the college standpoint. (Amended subsequently, prohibiting 
such officer from becoming an elective regent. ) 



42 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

graduation from the academies, and of admission to the colleges of 
the State," and they have organized among the academies a far more 
extensive system of examinations than they are required to maintain. 

Medical students, unless college graduates, must take a regents' 
examination before beginning study at a medical school.^ The same 
rule holds in case of law students. The regents are further required 
to appoint boards of examiners in medicine to examine candidates for 
a State license to practice medicine. 

It is specially in the field of academic examinations that the regents 
have advanced the interests of higher education during the last thirty 
years. 

The supervisory powers of the university are vast and stringent. 

"The regents shall, by themselves or their committees or officers, 
have full power to examine into the condition and operations of every 
institution in the university, and shall inspect the same, and require 
of each an annual report, verified by the oath of its presiding officer 
and including such particulars as may be prescribed by the regents, 
who shall annually report to the legislature on all departments of the 
university." Thus, while the various colleges and academies have no 
voice in the management of the university, the university has absolute 
power, in the name of the State, to inspect and to report to the legis- 
lature on all the affairs of these institutions. 

It is, however, in regard to the incorporation of colleges and acad- 
emies that the public character of the university is most clearly seen. 
The regents have power to ' ' incorporate any college, academy, library, 
museum, or other educational institution under such name, with such 
number of trustees or other managers, and with such powers and 
privileges, and subject to such limitations and restrictions, in all 
respects, as may be prescribed by the said regents in conformity to 
the laws of this State." The regents may also suspend the charter of 
any institution for failure to report or other violation of law. Further, 
"the said regents ma}^ at any time for sufficient cause, and by an 
instrument under their common seal, to be recorded in their office, 
alter, amend, or repeal tl:^e charter of anj^ college, academy, or other 
institution subject to their visitation." 

The university is thus made coordinate with the legislature itself. 
It would seem that the State had so far abdicated its sovereignty, 
were the university not in fact a part of the State government. 

State control of the university. — The constitution of the board of 
regents secures its control by the State. The life which vitalizes the 
corporation is the power of the people in their legislature. It has 
been seen that the governor of the State, the lieutenant-governor, the 
secretary of state, and the superintenent of public instruction are 
regents ex officio. The remaining 19 regents are elective, but there 
is no cooptative perpetuation in the university. "In the case of 

1 Laws of 1889, chapter 468. 



PRESENT SYSTEM OF EDUCATION" IN NEW YOKK. 43 

the death, resiguatioii, or removal from the State of any elective 
regent, his successor shall be chosen by the legislature in. the manner 
provided by law for the election of Senators in Congress, except that 
the election may take place at any time during the session of the leg- 
islatiire as it may determine." 

State control is further insured by the fact that while the officers 
of the board of regents are elected by the regents, yet "each officer so 
elected shall, before entering on his duties, take and file with the 
secretar}^ of state the oath required of State officers." 

It is also provided that if any regent absent himself from the meet- 
ings for a year without satisfactory^ excuse the fact shall be reported 
to the legislature and a new regent elected in his place. The annual 
rei^ort which the regents are obliged to make is another important 
feature in State control. 

It is a master stroke in the policy of State control that the regents 
are to serve without pay. A regular State department with its sal- 
aried officers would be more easily brought under the control of 
a political party. It was keen political insight which led the au- 
thors of this scheme thus to compel into this high service of the 
State the worthiest talent in the State. None but a citizen of worth 
and public spirit would accept a j)Osition of grave responsibility and 
important duty when only honor is to be gained. And honor is not 
certain, for they hold their position at the pleasure of the legislature. 

The policy is not a democratic one, but it has proved entirely suc- 
cessful; the legislature has uniformly chosen men of high character 
and wide reputation. They could have no motive to do otherwise 
when there were no "spoils" in the office. No suspicion of political 
corruption has ever touched the activity of the board of regents. 
The}^ have been men chosen from among the foremost citizens of the 
State. It is interesting to note that Prussia is adopting in municipal 
administration this policy of gratuitous service by the citizens, but 
with this difference, characteristic of the Prussian state, that such 
service is there compulsory. 

It is one merit of this peculiar constitution of the Tiuiversit}^ that 
to each separate college and academy is left its own charter, with 
all the stimulus of private gain and ambition, no mean stimulus 
in a social regime where individualism is the dominant principle of 
activity, while the work of harmonizing this multitude of virtuallj^ 
independent institutions, of inspecting their action, of promoting 
plans of improvement, and of bringing the whole into organic rela- 
tion to the State is performed by a few men whose very acceptance of 
the office proves their breadth of mind and zeal for the common good. 

Summary. 

State educational poacy . — From the foregoing sketch it has become 
apparent that in New York the activit}' of the State is vital in every 



44 HISTOET OF HIGHEE EDUCATIOlSr IN NEW YOEK. 

department and branch of educational enterprise. The points in the 
State system whicli are most notewortliy are these : 

1. The State system is not a monopoly. There exists perfect free- 
dom for private educational enterprise, individual or associate, lay or 
clerical. 

2. A public-school system for primary instruction, supported entirely 
by local or general taxation and State funds, and designed for the 
free use of all children under compulsory attendance laws. This 
system is organized upon a special territorial subdivision of the State, 
distinct in the main from the political subdivision, and all its parts 
five subordinated to the authority of a single head elected by the leg- 
islature — the State superintendent of public instruction. The extra- 
ordinary judicial power of final decision upon appeal conferred upon 
this officer makes the central authoritj^ of the State supreme in the 
regulation of even the smallest affairs and in the remotest home of 
local self-government. An extensive system of agencies for the train- 
ing of teachers for the primary schools is also maintained under the 
control of this department. 

3. A system of secondarj^ and higher education in which all colleges 
and academies having State charters are made parts of a vast corpo- 
ration called the "University of the State of New York," in the gov- 
ernment of which, however, they have no voice. Although for the 
most part these institutions are private foundations and are main- 
tained by private funds, they are subject absolutely to the visitation 
of the university, which has the power of life and death over these 
bodies corporate. The universitj^ in spite of its form as a private 
corporation, is in fact a State bureau of administration, exercising 
the sovereign authority of the State over the colleges and academies, 
while leaving to them the largest liberty for self-government in their 
internal affairs. 

4. In both systems the policy is to secure the largest possible bene- 
fit, consistent with State control, from individual initiative and local 
pride. Of the $17,000,000 paid for common schools in the year 
1889-00, 113,000,000 were raised by local taxation, and $4,000,000 only 
were the product of State taxation and State funds. The highest edu- 
cational service rendered in the State, viz, the work of the regents, is 
a service rendered gratuitously. New York is imperial in her educa- 
tional methods, but the imperialism is half-feudal in its type, volun- 
tary service by the people in return for the paternal supremacy of 
the State. 



CHAPTER 2. 

THE FOUNDING OF THE UNIVEESITY. 

Higher Education in Colonial Times. 

Little was done for the advancement of higher education in the New 
Netherlands. The policy of the Dutch in the matter of i3opuJar schools 



THE FOUNDma OF THE UNIVERSITY. 45 

for elementary instruction was carried to the New World, and from the 
very beginning the Dutch settlers took care to jprovide public primarj^ 
schools. In 1638 it was proj)Osed, in certain articles for the coloniza- 
tion and trade of the New Netherlands, that " Each householder and 
inhabitant shall bear such tax and public charge as shall hereafter be 
considered proper for the maintenance of clergymen, comforters for 
the sick, schoolmasters, and such like necessary officers."^ There 
had been schools even before this. And later, in 1659, "Alexander 
Carolus Curtius, before a professor in Lithuania," was engaged by 
the directors of the West India Company and sent out to open a Latin 
school. '^ The English occupation in 1664, however, put an end to 
this school, which appears to have been the only academy in New 
Amsterdam. 

Under the English regime Latin schools were encouraged. As dur- 
ing the Dutch rule, licenses from both civil and ecclesiastical author- 
ities were necessary for the establishment of private schools. In 1702 
the legislature framed "An act for encouragement of a grammar free 
school in the city of New York,"^ but no permanent foundation was 
made under this act. The act contemplated the establishment of a 
public school supported by taxation, "for the education and instruc- 
tion of youth and male children of such parents as are of French and 
Dutch extraction, as well as of the English." The schoolmaster was 
to be chosen by the common council of the city, and " ly censed and 
approved b3^ the Right Hon. the bishop of London, or the governor 
or commander in chief " of the province. Lord Cornbury, then gov- 
ernor, urged the matter, and the "English society for the propagation 
of the gospel in foreign parts " became interested in the plan. This 
society was formed in 1701, and adopted a vigorous missionary policy 
in the colonies, spurred on by antagonism to the efforts of the Jesuits. 
Under Governor Dongan the Jesuits had actually established a Latin 
school in New York in 1688. In educational affairs the aim of this 
society was to strengthen and extend the influence of the English 
Church, and the schools of the colony fell virtuallj^ under the control 
of this propagandist corporation. They sent out missionaries and 
schoolmasters and organized schools throughout the province, which 
they in part supported. In their attempts to convert the Iroquois, 
likewise, they showed great zeal. 

"The maintenance of a learned and orthodox clergy abroad " was 
declared to be "the principal," although "not the only intent of this 
corjDoration," and their standing orders in regard to schoolmasters 
show that they believed firmly in the dominance of the established 
church in education. The ecclesiastical bias, thus intensified in the 
schools of the colony, is important as helping to explain the contro- 
versies of the latter half of the centurj^ 

^ Pratt's Annals (see Conv. proc. 1868, p. 160). 
2i|3id_^ 1869, p. 144. 



^Ibid., 1868, p. 177. 



46 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

In 1733 aiiotlier attempt was made to establish a school under public 
authority. "An act to encourage a public school in the city of New 
York for teaching- Latin, Greek, and mathematics,"^ passed in that 
year, provided for an institution thoroughly civil in its scope and gov- 
ernment. The education sought was secular rather than religious. 
The public good, not the advantage of the church, was the object in 
view. The school was to be under the visitation of the "justices of 
the supreme court, the rector of Trinity Church, and the mayor, 
recorder, and aldermen of the city of New York," who could remove 
the schoolmaster for cause and appoint a successor. This board of 
visitation is probably the prototype of the ex officio membership of 
the board of governors of King's College and of the board of regents. 
Provision was made for partial public support of the school, and for 
the instruction, free of tuition, of 20 young men recommended from 
the different counties by certain public officers in those counties. 
This last provision shows a remarkable grasp, for that time, of the 
meaning and functions of a State school. It was the beginning of the 
policy, consummated in the establishment of the University, of an 
educational institution which should be identified in its operation with 
the whole life of the State. 

King's College. — The idea of a college seems to have lurked in both 
these schemes for a public grammar school, namely, the acts of 1702 
and of 1732. But it was not till 1746 that public action was really 
taken in regard to the founding of a college. 

In that year the legislature passed "An act for raising the sum of 
£2,250 by a public lottery, for this colony, for the advancement of 
learning and toward the founding a college within the same." This 
was the beginning of King's, afterwards Columbia College. It is not 
necessary here to tell the story of the founding of King's College. It 
has been often told, and there is nothing new to add. There was a 
fierce controversy over the charter. One party desired a royal charter ; 
the other a charter from the colonial legislature. The royalist party 
prevailed and the charter Avas granted by King George II in 1754. In 
this controversy is seen that revolt against absolutism in church and 
state which was gathering strength both in America and in France at 
this time. The principles or tendencies of the conservative party were 
a church foundation aided by the state; an education in which the 
church standards should be the gauge of truth; the maintenance of 
the authority of the English King; a corporate organization in which 
the Church of England should control. It was a party of English sym- 
pathies, of aristocratic tendencies, of intuitional and scholastic knowl- 
edge, of ecclesiastical supremacy. The other party were learning a 
new philosophy. They favored knowledge, positive and practical. 
They wanted freedom and self-government in the church and in the 
state ; and separation of church from state. They wanted an educa- 



Pratt's Annals (see Conv. proc. 1869, p. 186). 



THE FOUNDING- OF THE UNIVEKSITY. 47 

tion that fitted men for service in the state, that was identified with 
state life and controlled by the people in their civil capacity. It was 
the party that later had French sympathies, the popular party moved 
by the spirit of the American Revolution. 

William Livingston, whose influence we shall notice later on, was 
the life of this popular opposition to the royal charter. The American 
or poi^ular party won some advantages. Several public officials of the 
colony were made ex officio members of the board of governors. The 
ex officio governors of the college were the Archbishop of Canterbury, 
the first lord commissioner for trade and plantations, the governor and 
lieutenant-governor of the province, the eldest councillor, the judges 
of the supreme court of judicature, the secretary and the attorney- 
general, the speaker of the general assembly, the treasurer, the mayor 
of New York, the rector of Trinity Church, and one minister of the 
Reformed Protestant Dutch Church, of the Lutheran Church, of the 
French Church, and of the Presbyterian Church, respectively, and the 
president of the college. The charter was, in a measure, a compro- 
mise. William Livingston was put on the board of governors. Trinity 
Church offered land for the site of the college on condition that the 
president should belong to the Church of England. Livingston and 
his party opposed this measure and opposed also the giving of public 
funds to an institution dominated bj" the church. The opposition 
succeeded so far that in 1756 the lottery money was divided equally 
between the college and the city.^ Work was immediately organized 
by the Rev. Dr. Samuel Johnson, who came from Connecticut and who 
had refused the presidency of Franklin's new academy at Philadelphia, 
which afterwards developed into the University of Pennsylvania. 
The college was aided financially bj^ the King and "many of the nobil- 
ity and gentry in the j)arent country," by the Society for the Propa- 
gation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, and by "several public-spirited 
gentlemen in America and elsewhere," to quote from an account of 
the college attributed to its second president. Dr. Myles Cooper.^ 
This account continues: "By means of these and other benefactions 
the governors of the college have been able to extend their plan of 
education almost as diffusely as any college in Europe.'"^ There was 
also a grammar school annexed to the college. It is thus seen that the 
European universities had an influence on the development of the cur- 
riculum, and the training given by this college fitted some of the ablest 
men in the colonies for their work in the Revolution and the subse- 
quent political development of the country. The scientific spirit was 
early awakened, and a medical school was established as early as 1767. 
The college was broken up b}'^ the Revolution and the occupation of 
New York by the British. 

' MS. History of Columbia College, by Frank R. Hathaway. 

■' President 1763-1775. 

^ Quoted in Hist, record, p. 119. 



48 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

Netc York at the close of the Revolution. — On the 25th (\&y of Novem- 
ber, 1783, the British evacuated the city of New York, and the State 
constitution, adopted in 1777 at Kingston, pushed its jurisdiction to 
the sea. The population of the State at this time was about a quarter 
of a million, of whom perhaps one-tenth counted their residence in 
New York Cit}-, while Long Island numbered some 30,000 inhabitants. 
The rest of the inhabitants were scattered along the whole course of 
the valley of the Hudson, although from Albany to the Champlain 
region the settlements were sparse. Westward from Albany, Schen- 
ectady was the last important town. No substantial effort had yet 
been made to people the vast stretch of forest westward and northward 
from this narrow fringe of the Hudson River Valley. But the expedi- 
tion of Sullivan had broken the power of the Six Nations, and the 
State began a liberal policy of laud grants which soon started a great 
wave of white settlement through the fertile Mohawk plain, which had 
become famous as the home of the Iroquois Federation. But this 
meant future greatness onlj^ New York was but a middle State in 
importance, as in position, at the close of the war. New York and 
Albany were the only large cities. The territory of the State was a 
wilderness possessed by Indians. 

There were no efficient educational institutions. A few private and 
parish schools, a few academies, King's College, defunct^such was the 
condition of education in 1783. The State had an aristocracy, but an 
aristocracy without caste. Cosmopolitan in origin, this aristocracy 
could not be homogeneous in sentiment. It rested upon birth, upon 
wealth, uijon talent. Dutch and English, Huguenot and German, 
Welsh and Irish and Scotch were the national strains of blood in the 
first families. Alexander Hamilton, the Scotch Huguenot from the 
West Indies, parvenu though he was, had ennobled himself through 
his genius and conspicuous services. He married into one of the old 
Dutch families, the Schuylers, and became a leader in society as he 
was in politics. Intellectually, the chief distinction of New York was 
in her jurists. The bar of New York, containing, as it did, Hamilton, 
John Jay, Chancellor Livingston, James Duane, Aaron Burr, Richard 
Morris, Egbert Benson, and many others little less famous in that day, 
would yield to no other State its claim to precedence. And these men 
were trained, by the experience of the Revolution, to deal with all the 
questions of political organization and government. They established 
constitutions, framed laws, adapted the old order to new exigencies, 
were quick in expedients of policy. They were at once lawyers and 
judges, politicians and statesmen. The lawyers of New York were 
the leaders in the State, and, as a body, aristocratic in their preferences. 

Legislation of 178J{.. — It was natural that under such circumstances 
there should be an effort on the part of the leading men to revive the 
college, and thus provide means of higher education for the young 
men of the upper classes. But the general policy of the colony had 



THE FOUNDING OF THE UNIVEESITY. 49 

been like that of England, to leave educational matters to private 
enterprise. It is surprising, therefore, to find that the very first move- 
ment was for the establishment of a State university and a State sys- 
tem of education. 

In January, 1784, two months after the British left New York, Gov- 
ernor George Clinton sent his message to the legislature, in which is 
found the first public expression of the need of better educational 
institutions. His words are these : "Neglect of the education of youth 
is among the evils consequent on war. Perhaps there is scarce any- 
thing more worthy your attention than the revival and encouragement 
of seminaries of learning."^ 

This recommendation received prompt attention in both senate and 
assembly. The assembly appointed Robert Harpur, formerly a pro- 
fessor in King's College, and two other members, a committee, directed 
to prepare and bring in a bill "for the establishment of seminaries of 
learning and schools for the education of youth. "^ In the senate 
James Duane was made chairman of a "committee for seminaries of 
learning." Nearlj^ a month later, on February 19, Mr. Duane pre- 
sented a bill entitled "An act for establishing a university within this 
State." It is much to be regretted that nothing can be found throw- 
ing light upon the origin of this idea of a university. Nor is it known 
what were the provisions of this bill. Both the governor, George 
Clinton, and James Duane had been governors of King's College. 

After this bill was brought in, it seems to have occurred to the 
friends of the college that here was a good chance to revive that insti- 
tution. A petition to the legislature was presented in the senate on 
March 30, which shows clearly that there was a strong attemj)t, not 
only to revive the college, but to make it paramount in the new system 
which the bill of Mr. Duane had provided for. The petition recited 
the charter of the college, the death or departure of the majority of 
the governors, and "that many parts of the said charter are incon- 
sistent with that liberality and that civil and religious freedom which 
our present happy constitution points out," and urges "that an alter- 
ation of that charter in such points as well as an extension of the 
privileges of the said college so as to render it the mother of an uni- 
versity to be established within this State would tend to diffuse knowl- 
edge and extend literature throughout this State." Here is the germ 
of the whole subsequent policy. The new idea of civil and religious 
freedom as expressed in the constitution should be inwrought in the 
new educational system. The victories of the Revolution should be 
secured. And here emerges that consciousness of greatness, that 
dream of future empire, which characterized the great minds of the 
Revolution. What Washington and Jefferson thought in national 

' Senate journal, 1784, p. 6. 

- Nothing further appears to have been done in the assembly. The senate car- 
ried the matter through. 
3176 4 



50 HISTOKY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

outline, George Clinton, the uncompromising champion of his State, 
thought in the narrower outline of his State. There must be a system 
of education that would meet the demands of the future growth of the 
State. But these men who had the interests of the State at heart were 
guardians also of the old college. Naturally, therefore, they sought 
to render their alma mater "the mother of an university" which was 
to "diffuse knowledge and extend literature throughout the State." 
This petition was dated March 24, 1784, and signed by the following 
" governors of the college commonly called King's College" — George 
Clinton, Richard Morris, James Duane, Gerard Bancker, Egbert Ben- 
son, J. H. Livingston, Samuel Provoost, John Rodgers, John Morin 
Scott, Leonard Lispenard, John Livingston, William Walton, and 
Samuel Bayard, jr.^ 

This petition was referred by the senate to the committee of the 
whole, "to be taken into consideration with the bill for establishing a 
university within this State." This prompt, strong action on the part 
of the friends of the college captured the movement which had been 
started to establish a university, as appears from an entry in the 
senate journal April 16, 1784, to the effect that Mr. Williams, from 
the committee of the whole, reported "that they had gone through 
the bill, made several amendments, and altered the title in words fol- 
lowing, viz: 'An act for granting certain privileges to the college 
heretofore called King's College, for altering the name and charter 
thereof, and erecting an university within this State.'" 

Three days later this amended bill, with altered title, was passed by 
the senate ; April 21 the assembly concurred ; May 1 the council of 
revision approved it, and it became law. The chief justice who sent 
down the message of approval from the council of revision was 
Richard Morris, whose name appears second in the list of the peti- 
tioners above. Thus George Clinton, the governor, Richard Morris, 
chief justice, and James Duane, chairman of the senate committee on 
the bill, were all governors of King's College and signed the petition. 
Robert Harpur, chairman of the assembly committee, had been a pro- 
fessor in King's College. Besides this, the secretary of state was 
John Morin Scott, the State treasurer was Gerard Bancker, and the 
attorney-general was Egbert Benson, all signers of the petition. 

No bill could have been passed, probably, under such circumstances 
which did not strongly recognize the claims of King's College. If 
there was to be a State system of education, the college ^yould naturally 
wish to control in that system. The places of influence in the legis- 
lature and the chief State offices were held by friends of the old 
college. Any movement to set up a State university which might 
destroy the influence of this corporation would have been useless. 
The above petition to the legislature was virtually a i^etition by the 
governors of the college to themselves. These men, filled with the 

'Conv. proc. (1875), p. 199. 



THE FOUNDING OF THE UNIVEESITY. 51 

spirit of English conservatism, wonM have no faith in radical innova- 
ition such as that proposed in France at this time. -But, as Iteen 
j lawyers and politicians, they saw that the benefit of the new ideas of 
j State education could be secured by an adaptation of the old cor- 
porate organization, in which the power of their college could still be 
dominant. The scope of the new university should be coextensive 
with the boundaries of the State ; its structure expansive to meet the 
future expansion of the State. It should be secured from all danger 
of clerical control; it should be the child of the State, and under the 
control of the State, while yet depending mainly on private funds for 
its support. While the college should not comprise all the new uni- 
versity, yet the old property of that institution should be preserved 
to it, and its influence, for all that they could see, would continue 
dominant in the new regime. It was a striking instance of that con- 
structive revolution in which New York has proved herself a worthy 
daughter of England. Revolution by destruction was never suited to 
English character, and the prevailing character of the influential men 
in New York was English. 

But the law of May 1, 1784, was a compromise. The opposition, 
which began as far back as 1702, against the domination of the church 
in education, which showed more strongly in the academy scheme of 
1732, with its free students from the counties, and which had grown 
into an aggressive and threatening spirit of secularization in the con- 
troversy over King's College charter, had been vastly strengthened 
and extended by the Revolution. The idea of State education, with 
civil, not ecclesiastical, ends in view, had become widespread. It is 
hard to draw the party lines in the struggle which evidently took place 
over this legislation. The information to be had is very meager. 
There were several elements of antagonism, but in all the spirit was 
the same. It was the warfare between the jprinciple of authority and 
the principle of freedom. The new State idea opposed the old church 
idea. The country districts opposed a monopoly by the city of educa- 
tional advantages. The power of British sympathy was strong, and 
met by the growing sympathy with France. Against the innovation 
of a State system which might diminish the importance of the old 
college, that corporation, strongly intrenched in the places of power, 
raised a determined front. But the contention was not crystallized. 
A man like Governor Clinton or Mayor Duane would be in sympathy 
both with the State movement and the college movement. Alexander 
Hamilton would protest vigorously against religious tests and church 
domination, yet he would rather have centralization in the hands of 
the old corporation than a new State university governed by the 
counties; and his sympathies were English and aristocratic rather 
than French and democratic. In the main, of course, the tendency 
would be to a fusion of the church party, the college party, and the 
aristocratic or English party on the one hand, and of the State 



52 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

party, the equal rights or popular party, and the French party on the 
other. And the conservative elements were largely successful in the 
legislation of 1784. As the university was constituted by the act of 
May 1, 1784, and the amendment of November 26, 1784, a body of 
men who were virtually trustees of Columbia College were made auto- 
crats in the whole educational system of the State, while the funds 
that had belonged to the old college were restricted to the needs of 
the new college, and not of the university as a whole. The very title 
of the act shows the predominance of Columbia. The personnel of 
the board points the same way. The desire of Columbia College to 
become the ' ' mother of a university " was thus gratified by a legislative 
license. 

Act of May 1, 1784^ — 1. "All the rights, privileges, and immuni- 
ties" of the old corporation of King's College were vested in "the 
regents of the University of the State of New York." 

2. The regents are divided into five classes : 

(o) Perpetual regents, or regents ex ofiQcio, namely, the governor, 
lieutenant-governor, president of the senate, speaker of the assembly, 
mayor of New York, mayor of Albany, attorney-general, and secretary 
of state. 

(b) County regents. There were 12 counties in the State, and two 
regents from each county were appointed. 

(c) Clerical regents. ' ' The clergy of the respective leligious denom- 
inations in this State" were to choose "one of their body to be a 
regent in the said university; and in case of death or resignation, to 
choose and appoint another in the same manner." This language 
leaving it doubtful whether each denomination was to have a repre- 
sentative upon the board of regents, or all the denominations collect- 
ively were to have but one, the amendatory act of November 26, 
1784, provided that "the clergy of each respective religious denomi- 
tion" should "elect one of each of their respective bodies." 1 

(d) Founder's regents. Provision was made for the admission into 
the university, upon the application of the founder, of any college 
or school ' ' founded by any person or persons, or any body politic or 
corporate," and by them endowed "with an estate, real or personal, 
of the yearly value of 1,000 bushels of wheat." Upon admission 
the endowment was to be vested in the regents and ' ' applied accord- 
ing to the intention of the donor," and the founders and their heirs 
or successors were to be entitled forever to send a representative, 
"who, together with the president (if the estate is applied to the use 
of the college)," should be regents. 

(e) College representative regents. The fellows, professors, and 
tutors of the respective colleges were made "regents of the said 
university ex officio, and capable of voting in every case relative 

^Laws, seventh session, ch. 51; Pratt's Annals (see Conv. proc. 1875, p. 203). 



THE FOtTNDlNG OF TfiF UNIVEESITl'. 53 

only to the respective college to which they shall belong, excej)ting 
in such cases wherein they shall, respectivel}'^, be personally concerned 
or interested." 

o. The succession of regents was to be kept up by appointment 
"by the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the council 
of appointment," in such manner as to keep up the representation of 
counties. This applied only to the county regents. The manner of 
succession in the other classes has been already given. 

4. The regents were to elect their own officers, namely, chancellor, 
vice-chancellor, treasurer, and secretary. 

5. "The regents of the said university, or a majority of them," 
were empowered "to make ordinances and by-laws for the govern- 
ment of the several colleges which may or shall comj)ose the said 
university." This power included the appointment and removal of 
presidents, professors, tutors, fellows, pupils, and servants of the 
colleges, the fixing of salaries of officers and servants, and the man- 
agement of the estates of the colleges. There were some limitations 
upon the exercise of these powers: 

(a) ' ' No professor shall be in any wise whatsoever accounted ineli- 
gible for or by reason of any religious tenet or tenets that he may 
or shall profess, or be compelled by any by-law or otherwise to take 
any religious test oath whatsoever." 

(b) The property vested in the regents which had belonged to 
King's College was to be "applied solely to the use of the said col- 
lege," now first called Columbia College. All property vested in the 
regents subject to a particular use was to be applied strictly according 
to such use. 

6. The regents were empowered to hold " estates, real and personal, 
to the annual amount of 40,000 bushels of wheat" to use for the gen- 
eral objects of the university, namely, "the further promotion of 
learning and the extension of literature." 

7. The regents were "empowered to found schools and colleges in 
any part of this State " and to endow them ; ' ' every such school or 
college being at all times to be deemed a part of the university, and 
as such subject to the control and direction of the said regents " and 
to their visitation. 

8. The degree of "bachelor of arts" was to be granted by the 
presidents of the respective colleges, but to the regents was given 
the power "to grant to any of the students of the said university, 
or to any person or persons thought worthy thereof, all such degrees, 
as well in divinity, philosophy, civil and municipal laws, as in every 
other art, science, and faculty whatsoever, as are or may be conferred 
by all or any of the universities in Europe." 

9. "Any religious body or society of men" was allotN^ed to endow a 
professorship in divinity in the university. 

10. "Nothing in this act contained shall be construed to deprive 



54 HISTOKY OF HIGHER EDUCATI03S' IN NEW YORK. 

any person or persons of the right to erect such schools or colleges as 
to him or them maj^seem proper, independent of the said university." 

Amendatory act of November 26, 178Jf.} — The act of May 1 was 
evidently not satisfactory to the Columbia men. The board of regents 
were powerful, but that power Avas dangerous unless it could be con- 
trolled by Columbia influence. As the board was constituted, the 
college had secured a meager representation. Of the eight ' ' perpetual 
regents," four — namely. Governor Clinton, Mayor Duane, Attorney- 
General Benson, and Secretary Scott — were former governors of the 
college and signers of the i)etition. The provision for college repre- 
sentation in the board of regents by the presidents, fellows, professors, 
and tutors would secure control to Columbia onl^^ so long as Colum- 
bia men outnumbered the others, and these college representatives 
could vote only in matters pertaining to the college. 

Of the 24 county regents, 2 only, Henry B. Livingston and Robert 
Harpur, representatives of New York City and County, were to be 
relied on as Columbia men. It took a majority of the regents to make 
a quorum. Upon such a basis Columbia had small chance to rule 
even in the conduct of her own affairs. The very appointment of her 
own professors would be in the hands largely of the county members 
of the board, and the records of the regents show that few professors 
were elected till, by the amendment in the act of November 26, 1784, 
Columbia had filled the board with her own men. The clergy, too, 
were dissatisfied with the ambiguity of the law as to their representa- 
tion. A movement for a change in the law was soon begun. 

The regents immediately organized. Almost their only task was 
the care of Columbia College. They arranged for courses of instruc- 
tion, took charge of the finances of the college, made some attempts to 
procure professors, and admitted a few students, first among whom 
was De Witt Clinton, nephew of Governor Clinton, and afterwards 
himself governor of the State. The regents captured young Clinton 
as he was on his way to enter Princeton. 

But the business dragged. It was hard to get a quorum, so many 
of the members lived in the country counties. Governor Clinton, in 
his message to the legislature which convened in October, recom- 
mended an amendment. The matter was immediately taken up by 
the assembly and a bill reported by a committee of three, who were 
regents. They were all from outside counties, however, and from the 
fact that the bill never went beyond the committee of the whole, it 
seems probable that it Avas not satisfactory to the Columbia men. 
This conjecture is further supported by the fact that Mr. Duane in 
the senate, as he had done in case of the original act, brought in a bill 
to amend this act, which bill was supported by a "representation for 
the present condition of Columbia College. " ^ 

'Laws of 1784; Pratt's Annals (see Conv. proc. 1875, p. 321). 

•Sen. Jour, Nov. 19, 1784; Pratt's Annals (see Conv. proc. 1875, p. 218). 



THE FOUNDING OF THE UNIVERSITY. 55 

In the debate upon this bill it was proposed that £2,552 should be 
advanced by the State to the regents for the use of Columbia College. 
This Avas opposed by Mr. Yates, a country member, who x)roposed 
£1,000 instead, and upon the failure of Mr. Yates's proposition another 
country member moved that an advance of funds be made bj^ the State 
to "trustees of different congregations on the frontiers of the State, 
to enable them to rebuild their churches and for the establishment of 
schools among them." It was clear that Columbia grasped too much 
to suit the country members. The assembly concurred in the bill 
with some amendments. The bill finally passed November 26, 1784. 

This amendatory act has its chief significance in the personnel of 
the new regents appointed by it. Thirty-three additional regents 
were appointed. Of these, 20 were from New York City. The remain- 
ing 13 were scattered throughout the other counties. The draft of 
this bill, which was moved by Mr. Duane, had proposed only the 20 
New York members. Doubtless the 13 country members were put in 
to quiet the opi^osition of the popular party. These 20 men from 
New York were John Jay, Samuel Prevost, John II. Livingston, John 
Rodgers, John Mason, John Ganoe, John Daniel Gros, Johann Ch. 
Kunze, Joseph De la Plain, Gershom Seixas, Alexander Hamilton, 
John Lawrence, John Rutherford, Morgan Lewis, Leonard Lispenard, 
John Cochran, Charles McKnight, Thomas Jones, Malachi Treat, 
and Nicholas Romain. 

They were all good Columbia men. Four of them had signed the 
petition spoken of above, as governors of King's College. John Jay 
was a graduate of Columbia, and Alexander Hamilton had been a 
student there. Six or more of them were shortly afterwards elected 
professors in the college, and when the act of 1787 gave Columbia a 
separate board of trustees, all of these 20 men were made such trustees 
except John Jay and John Rodgers, who remained regents. This 
amendment, therefore, destroyed the former equality of county repre- 
sentation in the board of regents. There were henceforth 57 county 
regents instead of 24. Of these 57, New York had 22, Albany had 5, 
and each of the 10 other counties had 3. 

The amendment further provided that the chancellor, vice-chan- 
cellor, or senior regent in appointment could call a meeting with only 
eight other members. Nine members were thus made a quorum 
instead of the majority formerly required. The popular party, how- 
ever, succeeded in getting in a j)roviso that a meeting to be legal must 
be announced in a newspaper for at least two weeks previously. 

The amendment in regard to the representation of the clergy has 
been already noticed. 

It was provided that the regents should meet annually at the same 
time and place with the legislature, and ' ' that at every such meeting 
the acts and proceedings of the regents of the said university shall be 
reported and examined." This language is somewhat ambiguous, but 



56 HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

it does uot seem to have been intended that the regents slionld report 
to the legislature. The first report to the legislature of which any 
evidence appears is after the new law of 1787. 

The legislation a compromise of parties.- — 1. The college or corpora- 
tion party accomplished the following results in this legislation of 1784: 

a. "An act for establishing an university within this State" became 
"An act for granting certain privileges to the college heretofore called 
King's College for altering the name and charter thereof, and erecting 
an university within this State." 

The arrangement of the provisions of the act, as well as the provi- 
sions themselves, show that, as indicated by the change of title, the 
college party made this act, as amended, a measure primarily for the 
benefit of the college and secondarily only for the benefit of the State 
as a whole. The college was to be the source of learning for the whole 
State. It is even made to appear, by the following extract from the 
preamble to the bill, that the movement for a university was started 
by the college. These are the words: "And whereas the remaining 
governors of the said college, desirous to render the same extensively 
useful, have prayed that the said college may be erected into a uni- 
versity, and that such other alterations may be made in the charter 
or letter of incorporation above recited as may render them more con- 
formable to the liberal principles of the constitution of this State; be 
it therefore enacted, etc." The fact, however, was that the movement 
for a university began before any action by the college. 

&. The form of a corporation similar to that of King's College was 
retained, with added powers. In the charter of King's College tlie 
chief State officers were governors, ex officio, of the corporation, as by 
this law they were made "perpetual regents." 

This single board of regents were virtually trustees of all the col- 
leges in the State; charged with the whole administration and disci- 
pline of these colleges. This would give Columbia autocratic control 
of the whole State system if they could secure control of the board of 
regents. 

c. By the amendatory act of November, Columbia succeeded in 
obtaining this control of the board. Columbia had at least twenty- 
two men on the board, all residents of New York City, and therefore 
easily convened, while only nine members were necessary for a quorum. 

Further, the provision that new county regents were to be appointed 
by the governor and council of appointment was an aristocratic meas- 
ure that might easily be of aid to Columbia, especially since the seat 
of the State government was at New York, and the college could 
always hope to exercise a strong social influence there. 

d. The property which had belonged to King's College was still kept 
for the use of that institution, and the sum of £2,552 was advanced 
by the State to the regents for the use of the college. 

2. The church influence was greatly weakened. 



THE FOUNDING OF THE UNIVEESITY. 57 

a. The churches lost the ex officio regents which, in the oi-iginal 
draft,^ it was proposed to give them, following the analogy of the ex 
officio clerical representation in the board of governors of King's Col- 
lege. They gained a full equivalent for this loss, however, in the pro- 
vision for an elective clerical representation. This was a liberal 
advance, inasmuch as any sect could now be represented. 

h. In the provision against test oaths for professors a great blow 
was struck at clerical domination. 

c. The full freedom to all denominations to establish professorships 
in divinity marks the triumph of liberal principles. 

3. The party which might be called the State Univei-sity party, or 
the popular party, secured some considerable gains. 

a. They added the mayor of Albany to the ex officio regents and 
secured increased county representation on the board. 

5. The succession of the county members was put indirectly in the 
hands of the people and was made a State matter. 

c. They abolished religious tests. 

d. They had given form, however imperfectly, to the new idea of 
State control in education. They had created an organization which 
in some measure was vitalized by the life of the State, and which 
brought the power of the people in their political capacity to bear 
upon the instruction of the young. Conservatism and the power of 
corporate interests were still too great to allow thoroughgoing change; 
but the change was radical so far as it went. Further change was 
inevitable and not long delayed. 

Legislation of 1787. 

Predominance of Columbia College. — Columbia had captured the 
board of regents and for three years controlled their action. In the 
amendment of November, 1784, it was provided that the next meeting 
of the regents should follow directly upon the rising of the legislature, 
without the necessity of a published notice. It resulted from this 
that four daj^s after the passing of the bill there was a meeting at 
which only Columbia men were present. Before the amendment of 
November it was very hard to get a quorum for any purpose. There 
was only one regular meeting of the board from May to November, 
1784. At this meeting officers were elected and committees appointed, 
and these carried on the w^ork of the regents.^ The organization of 
work in the college was naturally the most urgent business of the 
board, and the friends of Columbia felt especially hampered. It was 
not surprising that they sought a reorganization of the board. It is 
chiefly the fact of their filling the board with Columbia men which 

^N. Y. leg. papers (ms.).No. 374; Pratt's Annals (see Conv. proc. 1875, p. 204). 

'^Minutes of the regents from 1784 to 1787. These are kept among the records 
of Columbia College. They were printed in Pratt's Annals (see Conv. proc. 1875, 
pp. 209-263). 



58 HISTORY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

shows the positive animus of the change. In reading the minutes of 
the meetings of the regents and their committees, both before and 
after the amendatory law of November, 1784, one can not escape the 
conviction that the activity of the board was narrow and directed 
almost exclusively to the interests of the college. The only action 
taken before November looking toward a broader conception of their 
)iuty was the sending of one of the regents, Colonel Clarkson, of Kings 
Countj^, to France and the Netherlands ' ' in order to solicit and receive 
benefactions for the use of the said universitj''."^ And Colonel Clark- 
son was also engaged with the mission of purchasing "such a philo- 
sophical apparatus for Columbia College as Dr. Franklin, Mr. Adams, 
and Mr. Jefferson, ministers of the United States, will advise and his 
collections will admit." This last clause gives away the whole scheme. 
The money was to be raised " for the use of said university," but that 
use was to get a working plant for Columbia. They also attempted 
to get up a correspondence with certain gentlemen in Ireland with a 
view to raise subscriptions there ' ' for the use of the university of this 
State." It is not recorded that any Irish money found its way to New 
York. Perhaps even at that time the current of subscriptions flowed 
the other way. 

After the amendment of November, few of the non-Columbia men 
attended, and they but rarely. Until the next annual meeting no 
notice of meetings was necessary, and the outside members, were 
evidently discouraged. Nearly half the board were Columbia men. 
They lived at New York, and it was almost impossible for enough State 
men to attend to show much strength against the college influence. 
The great State system of education which had been projected 
threatened to become only a revival of the metropolitan college. The 
work, narrow as it was, was vigorously pushed. The finances of the 
college were investigated, professors were elected, largely from among 
the new members of the board, and an elaborate plan of education 
was prepared by an able committee, two members of which were Mr. 
Duane and Alexander Hamilton.^ Everything possible was done to 
put the college upon a firm foundation and make it a strong and worthy 
institution. But for a long time nothing was done looking to the 
establishment of a broader system. The State was ignored, except 
as Columbia might furnish the higher education needed in the State. 
The aristocratic feeling was still dominant, as might have been 
expected in a body containing such men as Hamilton, Duane, and Jay, 
of avowed British sympathies, and many others interested chiefly in 
the maintenance of the prestige of the old corporation. With the 
meeting of the legislature, however, early in 1785, many country 
members of the board came in. Their presence was recognized at 
the meeting on February 15, 1785, by the appointment of Ezra L'Hom- 

^ Regents' minutes, June 4, 1784 (see Conv. proc. 1875, p. 214). 
^Regents' minutes, Dec. 9 and 14, 1784 (see Conv. proc. 1875, p. 225). 



THE FOUNDING OF THE UNIVERSITY. 59 

medieu upon a committee "directed to inquire for a fit person to fill 
the offices of president, professor of moral philosophy, and mathe- 
matics in Columbia College." Hamilton and Duane, together with 
four others besides L'Hommedieu, were members of this committee, 
who were also to devise means of raising a salary for the president.^ 
Mr. L'Hommedieu was a member of the original board of regents from 
Suffolk Countj^, and was to all appearance the leader of the popular 
party. There has arisen a controversy as to whether Hamilton or 
L'Hommedieu was the author of the act of 1787. This matter will be 
discussed later on. 

The board did not meet again until the 4th of April. The above 
committee reported. ISTeither Hamilton nor L'Hommedieu was pres- 
ent. The report recommended an address to the public, to solicit 
voluntary subscriptions to enable the college to carry out its plans, 
and "that proper persons in each county throughout the State be 
applied to and requested i^ersonally to solicit subscriptions for this 
purpose and that an application be made to the legislature to grant 
them an aid by a tax on marriage licenses or any other mode they 
may think proper."^ The thought of the Columbia men may have 
been right, that the revival of the college was the one thing needful 
at that time for the State, but there was a different feeling elsewhere. 

Opposition to the Columbia monopoly. — We have already seen the 
opposition, from the country members of the legislature, to an advance 
of State funds to the college. There are other indications of dissat- 
isfaction. On February 25, 1785, Aaron Burr in the assembly brought 
in a bill entitled "An act for the encouragement of literature."^ 
Although this bill never got beyond the second reading, it goes to 
show that the need of further effort for the advancement of learning 
was recognized. It was expressly admitted by a committee of the 
regents themselves, which we shall presentlj^ notice more fully, that 
the act of November, 1784, " placing the rights of ever}^ college in the 
hands of a few individuals," "excited jealousy and dissatisfaction 
when the interests of literature require that all should be united."* 
At the next annual meeting,^ when several country members were 
present, an important step was taken. A committee was appointed 
"to consider of ways and means of promoting literature throughout 
the State." The members of the committee were Dr. Livingston, 
Dr. Rogers, Mr. Mason, General Schuyler," Mr. Peter W, Yates, 
Brockholst Livingston, General Morris, Mr. Wisner, Mr. Haring, 

'Regents' minutes, Feb. 15, 1785 (see Conv. proc. 1875, p. 233). 
^Regents' minutes, Apr. 4, 1785 (see Conv. proc. 1875, p. 286). 
^Assembly jour. 1785, p. 52. 

''Regents' minutes, Feb, 16, 1787 (see Conv. proc. 1875, p. 253). 
^Regents' minutes, Feb. 28, 1786 (see Conv. proc. 1875, p. 243). 
^General Schuyler was not appointed regent until 1787. In what capacity he 
acted here is not known. 



60 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

James Livingston, Mr. Jolin, Mr. Dongan, Mr. Clarkson, Mr. Town- 
send, Mr. L'Hommedieu, and Mr. Williams. 

The committee represented in its membership the different districts 
of the State. It was appointed npon motion of Dr. Livingston, him- 
self a professor in Columbia. It can not be determined whether this 
move was made to quiet the popular party with a show of activity in 
the interest of the State at large, or whether it was a genuine endeavor 
to broaden the scope of the work done by the regents. Whatever the 
motive, nothing seems to have been done bj^ the committee. The non- 
Columbia men were greatly in the majority in this committee, and 
their failure to see this opportunity, at least to propose some plan to 
make the university a reality, can not be well explained. Lack of 
unity among so large a committee would be a plausible suggestion. 
At any rate they accomplished nothing, and the board went on in its 
old way, regulating the affairs of the college. 

Another matter merits notice before taking up the work accom- 
plished in 1787. In the senate on March 15, 1786, "A memorial of 
Andrew Law, of the city of New York, praying for an exclusive right 
of printing sundry new tunes of psalmody, was read and committed 
to Mr. Stoutenburgh, Mr. Williams, and Mr. L'Hommedieu."^ They 
brought in a bill entitled "An act granting to authors of literary per- 
formances the exclusive right of printing and vending their works." 
This bill, after various amendments in senate and assembly,^ was 
finally passed under the title "An act to promote literature."^ 

It is in effect a copyright law, but has a "rider" permitting the 
Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Flatbush, King's County, to 
sell certain lands "for the express purpose of erecting an academy in 
the said county." This was the beginning of Erasmus Hall, the first 
academy incorporated by the regents. It is important as showing how, 
outside of the board of regents, independent efforts were being made 
to promote education. It also identifies Mr. L'Hommedieu with the 
academy movement. It was this activity for academies outside of 
New York City that first made head against the predominance of 
Columbia, and from the beginning Mr. L'Hommedieu was the fore- 
most champion of these academies. 

Struggle over the new law. — From April 24, 1786, until January 31, 
1787, the regents did not meet. It is evident from the facts recited 
above that, outside of the circle of the friends of Columbia College, 
there was dissatisfaction with the neglect by the regents of the gen- 
eral educational interests of the State. The annual meeting, which 
was always held during the session of the legislature, was near, and 
at this meeting many of the country members of the regents might be 
expected to attend. Columbia men seem either to have become dis- 

1 Senate jour., 1786, Mar. 15. 

■^ Assembly Jour., 1786, pp. 132-167; Senate jour., 1786, p. 77. 

3 Laws 1786, ch. 54. 



THE FOUNDING OF THE UNIVEESITY. 61 

satisfied with tlie present arrangements for the government of their 
college or to have feared a legislative attempt at reconstruction in 
the interests of the State at large which might work injury to the col- 
lege. This meeting of January 31 was of Columbia men almost 
exclusively. A committee was appointed, which shows that they 
recognized that the objects of the university had not been attained, 
and that there was need of prompt action to guard the interests of the 
college in any change which might be made. The record runs: 

Resolved, That a committee be appointed to take into consideration the present 
state of the university and to report as soon as possible the measures necessary to 
be adopted to carry into effect the views of the legislature with respect to the 
same, and particularly with respect to Columbia College, and that Mr. Mayor,' 
Mr. Jay, Dr. Rogers, Dr. Mason, Dr. Livingston, General Clarkson, Mr. Gros, and 
Mr. Hamilton be a committee for that purpose.'^ 

In the evening of February 8 there was another meeting, at which 
the only action taken was to hear the report of this committee. Dr. 
Rogers reported progress and asked leave to sit again. This was 
granted and they adjourned to meet on the evening of February 15. 
On this very day, Februarj' 8, another movement for the establish- 
ment of an academy was begun in the senate. It was a petition of 
Samuel Buell, who was a regent, Nathaniel Gardiner, and David Mul- 
ford "in behalf of themselves and others, founders of an academy at 
East Hampton, in Suffolk County."^ This was in L'Hommedieu's 
own county, and the matter was referred to him with three other 
senators from the southern district, Treadwell, Stoutenburgh, and 
Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt was also a regent. L'Hommedieu and Stout- 
enburgh had been instrumental in passing the "Act to promote litera- 
ture " described above, which also provided for the establishment of 
an academy at Flatbush, in Kings Count}^ likewise in the southern 
district. Mr. Williams, who was a regent, had also been associated 
with L'Hommedieu and Stoutenbui\gh in the matter of the Flatbush 
academy, and he becomes prominent afterwards in association with 
L'Hommedieu in the struggle over the reorganization of the univer- 
sity. The East Hampton academy spoken of in the above petition 
was the second academy incorporated by the regents after their reor- 
ganization, and was called Clinton Academy. 

Attempt of Columbia to reorganize the university . — The lines of 
opposing parties in the struggle can now be indicated with some cer- 
tainty. At the convening of the legislature in 1787 the friends of 
Columbia in the board of regents appointed a committee, upon which 
were James Duane, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton, to devise 
means to make effectual the intention of the legislature in the acts of 

' Mr. Duane. 

-Regents' minutes, January 31, 1787 (see Conv. proc, 1875, pp. 250, 251, Pratt's 
Annals). 
2 Senate Jour., February 8, 1787, 



62 HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

1784, " particularly with respect to Columbia College." There were 
no greater names in the State tlian these three names. Duane and 
Jay, particularly the latter, had been the framers of the State consti- 
tution of 1777. In this constitution and in their earlier work in the 
Continental Congress they had shown themselves slow to break with 
Great Britain, conservative in temper, and aristocratic in sentiment. 
With Hamilton, they were at this time stemming the tide of popular 
indignation against the Tories. They were all by nature and legal 
training conservative and aristocratic. They were Columbia men and 
would be apt to think first of the college in any system of instruction. 
But they were also public-spirited and broad-minded men and had the 
interests of the people at heart. They were admirably fitted for the 
work of constructive statesmanship, and the Revolution had given 
them more liberal and progressive ideas. However, they were not 
truly democratic in spirit. A system of education in which the power 
should move from the college center at New York outward to the State 
would be more congenial to them than a system in which the power 
should move directly from the people. Hamilton was a member of 
the assemblj^ where during these very months he led a gallant fight 
against Governor Clinton upon the subject of granting the Federal 
Congress a permanent revenue. Hamilton exerted every power to 
induce this concession to the central Government, but failed. He suc- 
ceeded, however, in securing the appointment of delegates from New 
York to the constitutional convention which met in May, 1787. Robert 
Yates and John Lansing, jr., were Hamilton's colleagues upon this 
delegation. 

These men were strong partisans of the governor, and Lansing, also 
a member of the assembly, opposed Hamilton upon educational as 
well as political matters. The opposition of Clinton, Yates, and 
Lansing to Hamilton in regard to the ratification of the Federal Con- 
stitution need not be recounted here. In that famous struggle Duane 
and Jay and Hamilton acted as a unit. But Hamilton's views were 
known to favor a far greater degree of centralization than that in the 
Constitution, while Duane and Jay were not so extreme in their dis- 
trust of popular power. Hamilton had been earnest in his attention 
to the interests of Cokimbia since his appointment as a regent, serv- 
ing on very many of the important committees and frequently attend- 
ing meetings of the regents. 

February 15, 1787, the regents met. The date is wrongly given as 
Thursday, February 16, in the records. Thursday was the loth, and 
this date is supported by a subsequent reference in the records. The 
legislature was already in session. There was quite a large attend- 
ance of the regents at this meeting. Richard Varick, speaker of tlie 
assembly, presided. Duane, Rogers, Livingston, and Mason, of the 
committee upon the "state of the universitj^," Avere present. Plamil- 
ton, Jay, and the remaining members were absent. Fortunately, the 



THE FOUNDING OE^ THE UNIVEESITY. 63 

report of the committee is spread upon the minutes. It is presented 
"by order of tlie committee, Jas. Duane, chairman." An analysis of 
this remarkable report is necessary in order to appreciate some of the 
provisions of the subsequent legislation. Three subjects are consid- 
ered — the university, academies, and public elementarj^ schools. 

1. The university. Thej' recommena amendment of the former acts in the fol- 
lowing particulars: 

a. Changes in "point of form" are needed in regard to filling vacancies in the 
offices of chancellor and vice-chancellor, in the manner of calling and adjourning 
meetings, in regard to the annual meetings and the presiding regents, in the 
absence of official regents. 

{by Changes '"in the substance of its constitution" are necessary in order "to 
render the university beneficial according to the liberal views of the legislature." 
They recommend "that each respective college ought to be intrusted to a distinct 
corporation with competent powers and privileges, under such subordination to 
the regents as shall be thought wise and salutary." The reasons are that: 

1. While "the regents are the only body corporate" in whom "not only the 
funds, but the government and direccion of every college are exclusively vested," 
due care can not be given to each institution, owing to the "dispersed situation" 
of the regents. 

2. The "remedy adopted by the second act was to reduce the quorum to a small 
number, but thus placing the rights of every college in the hands of a few indi- 
viduals, your committee have reason to believe, excited jealousy and dissatisfac- 
tion when the interests of literature require that all should be united." 

2. "Academies for the instruction of youth in the languages and useful knowl- 
edge." These should receive "liberal protection and encouragement" — 

a. By incorporation, which would secure their property and remove the dis- 
advantages arising from their "establishment by private benevolences." 

b. By a "permanent superintendence " which " would greatly contribute to the 
introduction of able teachers, and the preservation of the morals of the students 
as well as their progress in learning." 

3. Public elementary schools. " But before your committee conclude they feel 
themselves bound in faithfulness to add that the erecting public schools for teach- 
ing reading, writing, and arithmetic is an object of very great importance, which 
ought not to be left to the discretion of private men, but be promoted by public 
authority. Of so much knowledge no citizen ought to be destitute, and yet it is a 
reflection as true as it is painful that but too many of our youth are brought 
up in utter ignorance." 

A draft of a bill was presented which appears to have applied 
only to the university and the academies. It is a misfortune that 
this draft can not be found. It would throw a great light uj)on the 
question of the authorship of the act of 1787. The committee recom- 
mended laying the matter before the legislature and their report and 
the proposed bill were put into the hands of Mr. Varick to present to 
the legislature. Mr. Varick, being speaker of the assembly, evidently 
turned the matter over to Hamilton, for the next morning, February 
16, Hamilton presented a bill in the assembly entitled "An act to 
rende]' more effectual an act entitled 'An act for granting certain 
privileges to the college heretofore called King's College, for altering 
the name and charter thereof, and erecting an university within this 



64 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATIOIST IN NEW YORK. 

State.' "^ The next day this bill was read the second time and com- 
mitted to committee of the whole. ^ Hamilton seems never to have 
been able to push his bill further. It may be that the Clintonian 
opposition to Hamilton was making itself felt even in the matter of 
educational reform, and that the Columbia men thought their plan 
more likely to succeed by attempting to capture the independent 
movement for a new university law then in progress in the senate 
under the leadership of Ezra L'Hommedieu. It can not be discovered 
what was Clinton's position in this matter. Shortly after the board 
had been filled by Columbia men by the amendatory law, Clinton 
had resigned the chancellorship. This was in April, 1785, and he 
seems to have attended only two of the meetings of the board until 
its reorganization after the law of April, 1787. An examination of the 
Clinton papers (MS.) at the State library at Albany fails to give any 
clue to his views upon the university. From the catholic tone of his 
first message to the legislature, from his known democratic opinions, 
from his magnifying the importance of the State, from his political 
opposition to Hamilton, from his refusal to mix in the afi'airs of the 
university while it was under the domination of the Columbia party, 
and from the fact that he was again made chancellor upon the reor- 
ganization in 1787 upon a truly State basis, it may well be supposed 
that he represented the State or popular side in this struggle, at least 
after the antagonism became pronounced. 

Popular attempt at reorganization. — It has alreadj^ been seen that 
two attempts were made to erect academies on Long Island, one 
at Flatbush, the other at East Hampton. The assembly journal 
shows that a petition of Jesse Woodhull and others was presented in 
1785, for a law enabling them to raise £200 by lottery to finish an 
academy at Goshen, Orange County.^ During this time also a plan 
was formed of founding a college at Schenectady, in which Dr. John 
H. Livingston was interested. He was the regent who had moved for 
a committee to devise means for promoting literature throughout the 
State, and, although a professor in Columbia, was not a narrow par- 
tisan of that institution. He became the principal of Erasmus Hall 
shortly after it was incorporated. We find indications that there was 
a call for new educational institutions in every part of the State. Ai 
early as 1779 an application was made to the assembly for an act 
enabling "the trustees of the freeholders and commonalty of the 
town of Kingston to erect a college or university in the said town." 
The matter was referred to a committee consisting of Mr. Schoonmaker, 

'Assembly Jour., 1787, p. 53. 

- It is surprising that Pratt's Annals, which purport to give accurate transcripts 
of the minutes of the legislative journals touching this legislation, and which the 
writer, on a careful reading of the journals, has failed to find defective in any 
other material point, should have omitted altogether this entry concerning Ham- 
ilton's bill. 

^Assembly Jour., Jan. 31, 1785, p. 7. 



11 



THE FOUNDING OB^ THE UNIVEESITY. 65 

Mr. L'llommedieu, and Mr. Palmer, to which four other members were 
added, James Gordon of Albany County, Thomas Tread well of Suffolk 
County, Egbert Benson of Dutchess County, and Robert Harpur of 
New York County. ^ This committee had also in charge a petition from 
John Cuyler and 542 inhabitants of Albany and Tryon counties, and 
from Thomas Clark and 131 others of Charlotte County, for a college at 
Schenectady. A bill was prepared and also a charter for this college 
at Schenectady, which was to be called Clinton College. This charter 
is preserved among the Clinton papers (No. 3467).^ These petitions 
were presented in August, 1779, but nothing further came of them at 
that time. They show the local need of schools in different parts of 
the State and the membership of the committee is important in this 
inquiry. Ezra L'Hommedieu is seen to have been thus early inter- 
ested in the educational affairs of the State. Egbert Benson and 
Robert Harpur were regents, and Thomas Treadwell was a member 
with L'Hommedieu of the senate cominittee appointed February 8, 
1787, upon the petition in behalf of an academy at East Hampton. 
While the committee of the regents were preparing the bill which 
was, in all probability, the bill presented by Hamilton to the assembly 
on February 16, Ezra L'Hommedieu and his colleagues, Treadwell, 
Stoutenburgh, and Vanderbilt, were laboring upon a bill for the same 
end. Hamilton's bill was swamped in committee of the whole on 
February 17. On February 27 the senate journal contains the fol- 
lowing entry: 

Mr. L'Hommedieti, from the committee to whom was referred the petition of 
Samuel Buell, Nathaniel Gardiner, and David Mulford for the incorporation of an 
academy at East Hampton and for other purposes, reported that in the opinion of 
the committee it will be proper that a bill should be ordered to be brought in, for 
erecting an university and for granting privileges to colleges and academies within 
this State, and for repealing the acts therein mentioned, which report he read in 
his place and delivered the same in at the table, where it was again read, and 
agreed to by the senate. Whereupon. 

Ordered, That Mr. L'Hommedieu prepare and bring in a bill for that purpose. 

Mr. L'Hommedieu, according to order, brought in the said bill, which was read 
the first time and ordered a second reading. 

Samuel Buell was a regent, and knew that the university was in- 
tended to found and govern academies. Why should these petitioners 
come to the legislature for a separate charter when they might have 
the benefits of becoming a part of the university? It seems plain that 
they were afraid of the board of regents. They preferred incorpora- 
tion in which they could control their own funds to placing their 
property in the hands of this board of omnibus trustees, controlled 
heretofore by a set of men working chiefly in the interests of one 
institution. The report of the committee of the regents quoted above 
shows the prick of a guilty conscience on the part of the Columbia 

' Hist. Record, p. 357. ^ Ibid., pp. 144-357. 

3176 5 



66 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

ring of control. And from the recommendations of that committee 
and the independent movement now started for the separate incorpo- 
ration of academies it becomes evident that regents and nonregents 
alike recognized the need of reform and agreed npon the direction 
that reform should take. L'Hommedieu seized the opportunity 
offered by this petition to prepare a measure reorganizing the univer- 
sity upon a broader basis. He became the champion of the interests 
of the State as a whole, of the popular and antimonopoly spirit, of a 
widely spead education that should serve local interests while unified 
in a State system of the academies against Columbia College. 

It is proper here to say a word about this man. He, was a descend- 
ant of Benjamin L'Hommedieu, a Huguenot, who came to New York 
from Rochelle after the revocation of the edict of Nantes, and settled at 
Southhold, Long Island. Ezra L'Hommedieu was born at this place 
in 1734. He was a graduate of Yale in the class of 1754, after which 
he traveled in France and continued his studies there. He practiced 
law in New York City after his return, and during the Revolution 
became prominent. From 1775-1778 he was a member of the New 
York provincial congress and took part in the formation of the State 
constitution. He was then a member of the New York assembly until 
1784, when he became State senator, which ofi&ce he held, with the 
exception of the year 1793, from 1781 till 1809. For seven years, 
between 1779 and 1788, he was a delegate to the Continental Congress. 
He was also a member of the council of revision in New York State 
for several years, and for one year of the council of appointment. A 
Federalist at first, he finally went over to the Republicans in 1797. 
When, on the presentation of the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions 
in the senate, Mr. King moved a resolution to the effect that the con- 
stitutionality of acts of Congress was a question for the judiciary and 
not for the legislature, L'Hommedieu opposed the resolution.^ He 
was a regent from the founding of the university until he died, in 
1811. The Clinton papers for 1783 contain many interesting letters 
which passed between Governor Clinton and L'Hommedieu, at that 
time a delegate to the Continental Congress. The following letter 
from Clinton to L'Hommedieu gives a good glimpse of several of the 
persons connected with this inquiry. On July 6, 1783, L'Hommedieu 
writes from Middletown, N. Y., to Governor Clinton, at Poughkeep- 
sie, asking him as to the attendance of Gen. John Morin Scott and 
James Duane at the Congress in Philadelphia, and stating the great 
disadvantages in his being away from home at that time. 

Governor Clinton replies from Poughkeepsie, July 10, 1783: 

Dear Sir: I am favored with yours of the 6th instant. Mr. Duane left this 
place for Congress yesterday morning. General Scott is indisposed, and there is 
no hope of his attending. He informs me he has written you so. Hamilton is all 
impatience to be released. His lady hourly expects him home. She is young and 



> Hammond, J. B. History of Political Parties in the State of New York, v. i. , p. 125. 



THE FOUNDING OF THE UNIVERSITY. 67 

ought not to be disappointed. Congress have passed, and the prest. forwarded 
me, a second resolution pressing an immediate representation of the different 
States as a matter at this juncture of the utmost importance, and a representation 
of this State depends altogether upon your attendance. The sooner the better. 
It is as uncertain as ever when the British will leave New York, etc' 

It is refreshing to see the governor's solicitude about Hamilton and 
his lady in view of the bitter antagonism that developed later. This 
letter shows something of the esteem in which L'Hommedieu was held. 
An engraving at the State library, which has been ]3rinted in the docu- 
mentary history of New York, shows L'Hommedieu to have had a head 
of classic shape, with clear-cut features, and vivacious, intelligent 
expression. He looks like an able and resolute man. L'Hommedieu 
families still live on Long Island. The pronunciation of their name 
has degenerated into "Lommidoo." 

L'Hommedieu's bill on the next day, February 28, was sent to the 
committee of the whole. On March 1 Mr. Stoutenburgh reported prog- 
ress and leave to sit again was granted. This performance was 
repeated on March 6, 7, and 8. Evidently there was a struggle in 
progress on the bill. 

The regents meanwhile, after the failure of Hamilton's bill in the 
assembly, were quiet. There is no record of anj^ meeting on February 
22, the day to which an adjournment was taken. On the meeting of 
March 1 no action was taken upon the reorganization of the university. 
In the evening of March 8, the day on which leave to sit again was 
granted in the senate upon L'Hommedieu's bill, a meeting of the 
regents was held with a comparatively large attendance. Hamilton, 
Dnane, and Jay were there. With a few exceptions all who attended 
were Columbia men. This meeting was the turning point in the his- 
tory of that legislation. The Columbia men had seen the need of 
compromise. Their policy was shrewd and effective. They deter- 
mined to capture the independent movement in the person of Mr, 
L'Hommedieu himself. They^ — 

Resolved, That a committee of six members of the regency be appointed to con- 
sider of the most proper means for procuring an act of the legislature for amend- 
ing the charter of the university, either in conformity to the bill directed to be 
presented by the resolution of the board of the loth of February last or with such 
alterations as may be found necessary, and that they report to the regency at the 
next meeting, and that the speaker of the assembly, the mayor of New York, 
Colonel Hamilton, Mr. Williams, Mr. L'Hommedieu, and Mr. Jay be a committee 
for that purpose. 

Neither the speaker of the assembly (Richard Varick) nor L'Hom- 
medieu were present at that meeting. The Columbia attempt at reor- 
ganization had failed in a committee of the whole in the assembly, in 
spite of the leadership of Hamilton. The attempt of the academy or 
State party to reconstruct the university, under the leadership of 
L'Hommedieu, was threatened with defeat in committee of the whole 

1 Clinton Papers. No. 5119. 



68 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

in the senate. It is probable that botli parties were willing to com- 
promise. It is certain that the keen political tact and quick energy 
of the Columbia men made compromise and consolidation a fact 
accomplished. L'Hommedieu attended the next meeting of the regents, 
held onl}^ four days afterwards, the first time that he had attended since 
April 10, 1786. The speaker of the assembl}^ was also present. The 
committee reported progress and asked leave to sit again. 

U Hommedieu' s hill and Hamilton's hill not the same. — It will be 
remembered that on February 15 the committee of the regents reported 
a draft of a bill, and that on February 16 Hamilton presented a bill to 
the assembly. L'Hommedieu's bill was not presented to the senate 
until February 27. The question naturally arises, Was L'Hommedieu's 
bill after all the same bill which the regents' committee had prepared 
and which Hamilton had laid before the assembly? It appears upon 
the clearest evidence that these bills were not the same. 

1. The facts already detailed show an antagonism between the 
Columbia men in control of the board on the one hand, and the non- 
Columbia regents and nonregents on the other. 

2. L'Hommedieu had not attended the meetings of the regents for 
nearly a year. He was a Yale man and would naturall}^ have no 
special interest in Columbia. He was a countrj^man and would be 
inclined to attach more importance to the academies and the general 
needs of the State education than to the management of Columbia 
college. 

3. The titles of the acts indicate a difference. 

a. The original university bill proposed in 1784 was entitled, before 
it was captured by the King's College interest, "An act for establish- 
ing a university within this State." 

h. After its capture and as passed May 1, 1784, this bill was entitled 
"An act for granting certain privileges to the college heretofore called 
King's College, for altering the name and charter thereof, and erect- 
ing a university within this State." 

e. The amendatory act of November 26, 1784, simply amended by 
the above title. 

d. The assembly journal, date of April 13, 1785, shows that John 
Lawrence (a regent) brought in a bill entitled "An act to amend and 
explain two certain acts therein mentioned relative to the universitj^ 
within this State." Nothing is known of this bill, which never went 
beyond its first reading, and it is introduced here only for the sake 
of completeness. 

e. Hamilton's bill was introduced in the assembly February 16, 1787. 
The movement in the board of regents, with which Hamilton was con- 
cerned and which resulted in the presentation in the assembly of 
Hamilton's bill, confessedly had for its primary object the bettering 
of the condition of Columbia College. It was not until after L'Hom- 
medieu's activity began, upon the petition of the East Hampton Acad- 



THE FOUNDING OF THE UNIVEESITY. 69 

emj^, that Hamilton's committee appeared to have considered the 
academies and schools. The title of Hamilton's bill as introduced 
into the assembly indicates well the spirit in which it was conceived. 
"An act to render more effectual an act entitled 'An act for gran ting- 
certain privileges to the college heretofore called King's College, for 
altering the name and charter thereof , and erecting a university within 
this State. '"1 

/ L'Hommedieu's bill was proposed in senate February 27, 1787. 
The title of this bill shows at once the reversion to the earlier anti- 
Columbian idea of a truly state university, and the catholic scope of 
the system proposed. The title runs, "An act for erecting an uni- 
versity and for granting privileges to colleges and academies within 
this State, and for repealing the acts therein mentioned." L'Homme- 
dieu was for repealing and building anew upon a broader foundation; 
Hamilton would render more effectual the existing acts. 

4. The manuscript drafts of L'Hommedieu's bill show the plainest 
evidence of his independent action. 

Among a collection of manuscripts in the State library, called "New 
York legislative papers," are several drafts of the bill which finally 
became the law of April 13, 1787, establishing the university. No. 
382 in this collection is the draft of the bill introduced in the senate 
February 27. It is in two parts which fit together, but there are 
breaks in it. The first half is indorsed with the title, as given above, 
in the same handwriting as the body of the draft. Below the title it 
is indorsed, "In senate 27th Feb., 1787, read 1st time." This hand- 
writing appears also in the indorsement of the subsequent drafts, and 
seems to be that of the clerk of the senate. The second part is 
indorsed with the title, and the following words, "In senate 27th Feb., 
1787, read 1st time; 28th, read second time and committed." This 
whole indorsement is in the same handwriting. No. 383 of this col- 
lection is a complete draft of this bill, and is indorsed, still in the 
handwriting of the clerk of the senate, with the title and these words : 
"In senate 27th Feb., 1787, read 1st time; 28th, read second time and 
committed." These indorsements correspond with the entries in the 
senate journal for February 27 and 28. No. 388 is the engrossed 
draft of this bill referred to in the senate journal of the dates March 
19 and 20, and need not be considered here. 

The handwriting of the drafts Nos. 382 and 383 is the same through- 
out. A careful comparison of this handwriting with that of Mr. 
L'Hommedieu, as appearing in many letters from him to Governor 
Clinton in 1783, contained in the collection of Clinton papers above 
referred to,^ establishes beyond doubt that these drafts are in L'Hom- 
medieu's handwriting. The bill, then introduced into the senate on 
Februarj^ 27, and read the second time on February 28, was the work 

'Assembly journal, 1787, p. 53. 

= See Clinton papers 5157, 5165, 5166, 5193 5205, 5214, 5228. 



70 HISTOEY OP HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

of L'Hommedieu's committee, and was in the handwriting of L'Hom- 
medieu. It is not necessary to go into great detail to show that this 
bill was not the bill of the regents' committee proposed eleven days 
earlier in the assemblj^ by Hamilton. If the draft of the assembly 
bill conld be found, the matter would be much easier, but this draft 
can not be unearthed. Not only are the senate drafts in L'Homme- 
dieu's handwriting, but they are not fair copies, as they would be if 
taken from the Hamilton bill. They are filled with erasures, interlin- 
eations, verbal changes, transpositions, and marginal additions and 
suggestions. They show tentative and gradual construction. And 
then, to make the matter more certain, at one place in the margin 
appears this note, like everything else, in L'Hommedieu's handwriting, 
"Take this clause from the other bill." At one other place appears 
a similar note, ' ' Take in the clause of the assembly bill. " These facts 
are enough to show that while L'Hommedieu had the assembly bill in 
mind and used it in the recasting of his own bill, yet his work was 
independent and different. If further evidence is needed it is ready 
at hand in the character of L'Hommedieu's scheme. 

The first draft does not seem complete, but coincides in the main 
with the second, which is, however, fuller. A complete state system 
is proposed, consisting of theuniversity corporation over all; colleges, 
with which Columbia is coordinated, having each a separate charter; 
incorporated academies, and schools. With the exception of schools, 
which are only mentioned, provisions are made with considerable 
minuteness for the government of these different institutions, all of 
which are made parts of the universitj^ The language of the law of 
May 1, 1784, is followed wherever practicable. It must be granted 
that upon this statement the bill resembles the scheme outlined in the 
report of the regents' committee. But even upon this showing it 
might be urged that it was quite as likely that the regents' committee 
took their ideas of furthering the academies from L'Hommedieu, who 
had been considering the matter a week before the report of the com- 
mittee, as that L'Hommedieu took his bill from that of the regents' 
committee. And since reform had become necessary, it might well be 
that there was no difference of opinion as to the general character of 
the reform. But a few of the provisions of L'Hommedieu's proposed 
law show most positively that he was urging the reform from a stand- 
point entirelj^ different from that of the Hamilton committee. 

1. L'Hommedieu's bill provides, "And no president or professor of 
the said Columbia College, or any other college or academy recognized 
by this act, shall be a trustee or governor of such college or academy, 
nor shall any such governor or president or professor be a regent of the 
university.'" In the second draft (No. 383) "tutor" is added to this 
prescribed list. At the meeting of the regents on February 15, when 
the report of their committee was "approved and confirmed," and the 

' N. Y. leg. papers, No. 382. 



THE FOUNDING OF THE UNIVERSITY. 71 

draft of the bill was directed to be laid before the legislature, there were 
present twenty-one members. Of these, seven at least were actual 
professors in Columbia at that time. Eight others were made trus- 
tees of Columbia under the new law, and among those eight were Mr. 
Duane himself, Robert Harpur, a former professor of Columbia, and 
Dr. Cochran, who had been proffered a professorship and declined. 
There were only five of the twenty-one present who were not presumably 
friends of Columbia. Many of these fifteen had been made regents 
when the board was packed in the interest of Columbia by the amend- 
ment of November, 1784. It is not reasonable to suppose that at such 
a meeting a law would be recommended containing a provision so 
destructive of Columbia rule in the board of Columbia trustees. This 
influence of the faculty of Columbia in the board of regents seems to 
have excited the special hostility of the non-Columbia men. 

2. L'Hommedieu's bill provides for an annual visitation of the 
academies by a committee of regents, ' ' to inquire into the state and 
progress of literature therein, and to confer the degree of bachelor of 
arts on such students of such academies as they shall judge deserving 
of the same, or to direct that such degrees be conferred on such stu- 
dents by the president of any college subject to their visitation."^ It 
can not be supposed that the Columbia men would propose such com- 
pulsion upon their power to confer degrees. 

3. The first draft of L'Hommedieu's bill proposes that the "said 
Columbia College shall be subject to the visitation of the regents of 
the university, or a committee from them, who may, as often as the 
regents shall judge necessary, examine into the funds of the said col- 
lege, the mode of education, and the progress in literature made by 
the students, as well as of the learning, abilities, and conduct of the 
different professors and tutors. " ^ 

This is the clause which is marked in the margin, "Take this 
clause from the other bill." In the second draft, which was read the 
following day in the senate, this clause is somewhat toned down. It 
reads: " It shall and may be lawful to and for such visitors to inspect 
ano examine into the state of literature and the progress of the stu- 
dents in any of the said colleges, and into the discipline, government, 
management, laws, and statutes thereof, and the execution of the 
same, and into the university funds, securities, receipts, expenditures, 
books of accounts, and vouchers appertaining thereto, in order 
that a just report thereof may be made to the regents of the said 
university and by +jhem be laid before the legislature when it shall be 
found necessary."^ Again it can not be supposed that the Columbia 
men would have proposed such subordination on the part of their 
college to the regents. It looks as if L'Hommedieu had softened the 
rigor of his first proposal to better suit the temper of the assembly 
bill. 

1 N. Y. leg. papers, No. 382. '^N. Y. leg. papers, No. 383. 



72 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

4. L'Hommedieu's first draft gives the regents a veto upon the 
"ordinances and by-laws'' made by the governors of Columbia "for 
the government of Columbia College and for the management of (its) 
estate." In L'Hommedieu's second draft the same power is given the 
regents. This is then erased, and the following is interlined (after the 
powers of the trustees of the various colleges to make ordinances and 
by-laws is stated) : ' ' Provided also, that the trustees of the colleges 
above mentioned respectively lay before the regents of the said uni- 
versity from time to time the plan or system proposed to be adopted 
for the education of the pupils and students in each of the said col- 
leges, respectively, in order that the same may be revised and exam- 
ined by the said regents, and by them be altered and confirmed as 
they shall judge proper." 

These powers in the regents do not seem like suggestions from 
Columbia. The milder veto power in the second draft may well have 
been a politic concession by L'Hommedieu to the Columbia infiuence. 

5. L'Hommedieu's bill provides that the succession of trustees for 
Columbia shall be kept up by legislative appointment. This it is 
impossible to think of as emanating from the Columbia men. In his 
first draft he proposed for Columbia trustees the same plan as that pro- 
vided in the law of May 1, 1784, for the succession of regents, namely, 
appointment by the governor and council of appointment. This was 
then erased and a blank left for the manner of appointment. In the 
second draft he proposed at first the filling of vacancies by election 
"by a majority of the said trustees." This was erased and appoint- 
ment by the legislature substituted. This provision for the govern- 
ment appointment of trustees is applied in L'Hommedieu's bill to 
other colleges in the State. All colleges were thus to be State institu- 
tions. This is the more remarkable since he proposes to put the acad- 
emies upon a different footing, succession of academic trustees to be 
by cooptation. He was the champion of the academies, and wanted 
them self-governing, subject only to such supervision as would be for 
their benefit and encouragement. The power of colleges he proposed 
to restrain through more rigid control by the regents and through 
legislation renewal of trustees. 

A comparison of L'Hommedieu's drafts with the bill actually passed 
shows that his provisions for academies were substantially incorpo- 
rated in the law, while in the part of his plan which touched Columbia 
and the colleges generally he was not nearly so successful. 

The conclusion based upon the foregoing considerations, as to the 
separate character of these two bills, is strengthened and confirmed by 
the history of this legislation subsequent to the appointment of the 
committee of regents March 8, 1787, with a view to consolidate the 
opposing forces and push through a compromise measure. If the 
L'Hommedieu bill were the same bill as that proposed by the regents' 
committee, the resolution by the regents on March 8 would not have 



THE FOUNDING OF THE UNIVEESITY. 73 

spoken of " procuring an act of the legislature for amending the char- 
ter of the university, either in conformity to the bill directed to be 
presented by the resolution of the board of the 15th of February last, 
or with such alterations as may be found necessary." They would 
have said "in conformit}^ to the bill now before the senate," or used 
some equivalent phrase. The difference and the controversy are 
everywhere apparent. The compromise effected between the two 
parties remains to be considered. 

Consolidation and compromise. — The regents made a strong and 
politic move in the appointment of their committee on March 8. 
They made the speaker of the assembly chairman of the committee. 
They secured the attendance of John Jay at that meeting, a rare 
advantage. He had attended only three meetings before this since 
his appointment on February 28, 1786. He accepted a place upon the 
committee. It would seem from his being appointed regent under 
the new law, when nearly all of his coappointees of 1784 were made 
trustees of Columbia, as if he finally had come to act rather against 
than in favor of Columbia. L'Hommedieu, the leader of the opposi- 
tion to Columbia in the senate, accepted a place upon the committee 
and attended the subsequent meetings. This committee was one of 
great ability. It contained Duane, Hamilton, and Jay. L'Homme- 
dieu was a man of ability and prominence, as is shown by his constant 
activity on important committees in the senate, as well asby the various 
offices held by him. Of Varick and Williams not so much is known. 
The meeting of March 12 has already been noticed. On March 15 the 
regents met again. The committee were all there except Jay. The 
other members present were mainly Columbia men. "Colonel Ham- 
ilton," from this committee, "reported a bill to be laid before the leg- 
islature." It was debated paragraph by paragraph. L'Hommedieu 
r.ioved to strike out the name of George Clinton from the list of 
Columbia trustees. The motion was lost, Hamilton and L'Homme- 
dieu, however, both voting in the affirmative. It was also proposed 
to leave out of the regency the governor and lieutenant-governor, but 
this was lost. In the final law Clinton is not the trustee of Columbia. 
The draft of the engrossed bill shows that, as introduced, it con- 
tained Clinton's name, which was afterwards erased. It was proba- 
bly struck out in the legislature. The bill and amendments were then 
adopted by the regents. The effect of this consolidation of opposing 
ideas upon the course of legislation appears instantly. Since March 
8, L'Hommedieu's bill had lain in committee of the whole. Four days 
after this agreement between the Columbia party and the academy 
part}^, on March 19, in the senate, "Mr. Stoutenburgh, from the com- 
mittee of the whole," reported that they had gone through the bill, 
made amendments thereto, altered the title in the words following, 
viz, ' ' An act to institute a university within this State and for other 
purposes therein mentioned, and agreed to the same." The senate 



74 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

agreed to the bill and amendments and ordered the amended bill to 
be engrossed. The next day, March 20, the bill was passed by the 
senate. It is the draft of this engrossed bill which is preserved in 
the New York legislative papers as No. 388. The agreement between 
L'Hommedien and the Columbia party seems to have quieted all oppo- 
sition in the senate. The compromise bill was now not the measure 
of a party, but the regents' bill. The assembly made some amend- 
ments in committee of the whole which were immediately concurred 
in by the assembly and the amendments ordered to be engrossed.^ 
The bill encountered opposition now from Hamilton's political oppo- 
nent, Mr. Lansing, a partisan of Clinton. On March 24 the Journal 
shows that Lansing moved to recommit the bill to committee of the 
whole. Hamilton opposed this motion. 

Colonel Hamilton hoped that the House would not recommit the bill. There 
was no doubt, he said, but the legislature possessed the right to give this power. 
There were frequent examples of the kind in Great Britain where this power had 
been granted. No disadvantage, he said, could arise from it; on the contrary, 
many would be the benefits. He therefore wished the bill might be finished, as no 
doubt existed with him of the power and the propriety of the legislature granting 
those privileges which were mentioned in the bill.^ 

It is not known what were the powers and the privileges thus defended 
by Hamilton. They may have been the power of incorporating col- 
leges, which encountered opposition later. Lansing's motion was car- 
ried and the bill recommitted. A week later two clauses of the bill 
were reported for consideration by the house. In 1786 a law had 
been passed appropriating one lot in every township of land "to be 
applied by the legislature for promoting literature in this State." A 
clause in the university bill proposed that letters patent for such lots 
should be granted to the regents. On Lansing's motion this clause 
was rejected. The other clause was the one empowering the regents, 
on application, to incorporate colleges upon certain conditions. Lan- 
sing moved to reject this clause. His motion was carried, Hamilton 
voting in the negative.^ 

On April 6 it was reported to the House that in the committee the 
speaker of the assembly had moved to reconsider this last rejected 
clause and the committee of the whole had voted for the clause on 
reconsideration, Hamilton supporting. The regents' committee thus 
stood firm in the assembly. Hamilton gave the bill his steady sup- 
port. The bill as amended in committee was agreed to by the assembly 
on April 6 and the amendments engrossed. On April 10 the assembly 
journal has an entry which shows a neat stroke of diplomacy on the 
part of Columbia and the regents. It was moved that the house 
"adjourn until the afternoon, that the members may have an oppor- 

1 Assembly jour., March 20, 21, 22, and 23. 

' Hamilton, Alexander. Works; ed. by H. C. Lodge, v. 6, p. 575. 

=* Assembly jour., March 31, 1787. 



THE FOUNDING OF THE UNIVERSI""Y. 75 

tunity to attend the commencement of the students in Columbia Col- 
le.^e, agreeable to a request of the regents of the university to the 
legislature." The motion called forth debate, but adjournment was 
voted — 34 to 17. This may have been mere courtesy. The regents 
met in the assembly chamber. But coming just at this time when the 
success of the bill was not assured, the courtesj^ may have had another 
motive. The next day the assembly passed the bill and amendments. 
The senate concurred in the amendments April 12, and on April 13 the 
council of revision sent down its approval bj^ message of Chief Justice 
Richard Morris, and the bill became law. The timely concessions of 
Columbia had assured the safety of the measure. The consolidation 
of both parties, making the regents a unit, had enabled them to secure 
a law far more satisfactory upon the whole than the old one and one 
which in its essential features has remained unchanged. Until 1889 
there was no thoroughgoing reconstruction of the system, and this 
law of 1889 was more a codification of the old law than a change in 
the constitution of the university. From the meager facts reported it 
seems that the popular house had some jealousj^of the university and 
feared to put such large powers into the hands of a corporation. But 
the animus of Lansing's opposition may have been only the Clintonian 
hostility to Hamilton, for the burning question in the New York legis- 
lature then was not reform of the constitution of the State university, 
but the larger question of a reform in the Constitution of the United 
States. Governor Clinton was mighty in the assemblj^ and stood 
strongly for his State against anj^ greater control by the Federal 
Government. Hamilton, on the other hand, believed heartily in the 
centralization of power in the hands of a strong and capable few. 
And as he strove for the subordination of the States to the rule of the 
central Federal Government, so in the State system of education he 
seems to have striven for the strong mastery of the cultured and able 
coterie of Columbia men over the undeveloped and self-asserting 
tnstitutions throughout the State. And as the disintegrating power 
of State rights showed such irrepressible life that he was compelled 
to compromise his ideal in the national Constitution, and consent to 
far greater local power in the States than he believed in; so in the 
university, to iDreserve the union he was obliged to compromise, to 
yield up the paramount influence of the capable institution at New 
York, then the political as well as the intellectual center of the State, 
and to allow the local academies a measure of self-government which 
was opposed to his political ideas. But once committed to the com- 
promise he was the staunch champion of the new university as of the 
new Federal Constitution. It was not the least mark of Hamilton's 
greatness that, imperious and ambitious as he was, he was yet capable 
of forgetting egoism in the presence of the supreme need of society. 
The founding of the University of the State of New York becomes 
thus a little part of that vaster movement which consolidated the 
Union of the States in the Federal Constitution, 



76 HISTOEY OF HIGHEK EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

Act of April 13, 1787.— This act is fav superior to L'Hommedieu's 
drafts in point of form. There is a definiteness, a precision of com- 
pact utterance, and a simplicity which are wanting- in his drafts. The 
topical order is substantially the same. That the changes were the 
result of the conferences of parties in the regents there can be no 
doubt. In the act as well as in the draft of the engrossed bill (No. 
388) the preamble alone makes this clear. In L'Hommedieu's drafts 
there was no preamble, and nowhere any reference to any desire for 
change on the part of the regents. He began abruptly after the title, 
"Be it enacted," etc., "That there shall be, and hereby is, instituted 
a university within this State." The act as well as the draft (No. 388) | 
begins with a recital of the two laws of 1784 instituting the univer- 
sity, and proceeds: "And whereas from the representations of the 
regents of the said university it appears that there are defects in the 
constitution o^ said university," etc. Elsewhere similar reference is 
made to the Initiative of the regents. They must appear as united in 
desiring reform. And that the reform was not alone the earlier meas- 
ure of Hamilton appears from the title as well as the preamble. 
Hamilton's bill was entitled "An act to render more effectual an act," 
etc., giving the title of the law of 1784. The preamble of this act 
reads, that whereas several amendatory acts of a law lead to confu- 
sion, "Wherefore, to the end that the constitution of one the said 
university may be properly amended and appear entire in law, it will 
be expedient to delineate and establish the same in this and repeal 
all former acts relative thereto. Be it enacted,'''' etc. This was pre- 
cisely the programme of L'Hommedieu. The language is largely that 
of L'Hommedieu and the provisions respecting academies are in the 
main the same as L'Hommedieu's. The greatest difference between 
this act and L'Hommedieu's drafts is in regard to Columbia and the 
colleges. A short analysis of this act will be useful. 

1. Instead of the prolix title of Hamilton's bill and the clumsy title 
of L'Hommedieu's bill, the act has the concise title: "An act to insti- 
tute a university within this State, and for other purposes theiein 
mentioned." 

2. The preamble, as indicated, shows its compromise character. 

3. The University. 

a Its corporate name is "The Regents of the University of the State 
of New York." 

b There are 21 regents, of whom 2 only, the governor and lieu- 
tenant-governor, are regents ex officio. 

The regents appointed are John Rodgers, Egbert Benson, Philip 
Schuyler, Ezra L'Hommedieu, Nathan Carr, Peter Sylvester, John 
Jay, Dirck Romeyn, James Livingston, Ebenezer Russell, Lewis Mor- 
ris, Matthew Clarkson, Benjamin Moore, Eliardus Westerlo, Andrew 
King, William Lynn, Johnathan G. Tomkins, John M'Donald, and 
Frederick William De Steuben. 






THE FOUNDING 0¥ THE UNIVEESITY. 77 

c Vacancies are to be filled by tlie legislature in the manner in which 
delegates to Congress are appointed. It will be remembered that this 
was in the days of the Continental Congress. The regents therefore 
stood as the representatives of the State as a whole, and not of any 
particular section. The same idea is now maintained in their election 
in the same manner as Senators of the United States. This provision 
does not appear in L'Hommedieu's draft and may well have been a 
centralizing amendment of Hamilton. 

d Various provisions are made as to the election of officers, calling 
and conduct of meetings, etc. 

e The general powers of the corporation as to holding of property, 
etc., are substantially those under the former law. 

/ The regents are ' ' authorized and required to visit and inspect all 
the colleges, academies, and schools which are or may be established 
in this State," to make ordinances and by-laws, and to appoint presi- 
dents of colleges and principals of academies if the respective institu- 
tions fail to do this for an entire year. 

g The}^ are empowered to confer all degrees above bachelor or mas- 
ter of arts which are " usually granted by any university or college 
in Europe." 

h They may apply their funds at their own discretion, except in case 
of grants made to them charged with an express use. 

4. Colleges. 

a The regents are authorized to incorporate colleges upon applica- 
tion b}'' citizens or bodies corporate wishing to found colleges under 
such conditions as they approve; but such corporations are to have 
the same corporate rights as Columbia College. 

b Columbia College. 

(1) The original charter of 1754 is confirmed with certain changes — 
"No persons shall be trustees of the same in virtue of any offices, char- 
acter, and descriptions Avhatsoever. " L'Hommedieu had proposed the 
mayor and recorder of New York as ex officio trustees. 

(2) The present trustees are James Duane, Samuel Provost, John H. 
Livingston, Richard Varick, Alexander Hamilton, John Mason, James 
Wilson, John Gano, Brockholst Livingston, Robert Harpur, John 
Daniel Gross, Johann Christoff Kunze, Walter Livingston, Lewis A. 
Scott, Joseph Delaplaine, Leonard Lispenard, Abraham Beach, John 
Lawrence, John Rutherford, Morgan Lewis, John Cochran, Gershom 
Seixas, Charles McKnight, Thomas Jones, Malachi Treat, Samuel 
Bard, Nicholas Romein, Benjamin Kissam, and Ebenezer Crossby. 
Thus all the faithful Columbia men who had come to her rescue in 
November, 1784, and had stood by her in the board of regents, attend- 
ing faithfully the meetings, were rewarded. To make room for the 
new friends they had gained they appointed 29 on the first board. It 
was to be reduced to 24, and kept at that figure. 



78 HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDUCATIOISr IIS" NEW YOEK. 

(3) The property and other rights of King's College under the old 
charter are to be retained. 

5. Academies. 

a Upon application hy founders or benefactors of academies in 
any cities or counties of the State the regents are empowered upon 
certain conditions to incorporate such academies. In fact, they are 
compelled to grant such charters if the conditions are complied with 
and "they conceive such academy calculated for the promotion of 
literature." 

b Such incorporated academies are granted the usual corporate 
powers, their annual income, however, being restricted to the "value 
of 4,000 bushels of wheat." 

c The trustees of the academies are empowered at lawful meetings, 
according to detailed regulations, to "appoint and remove officers, 
teachers, etc. , fix their salaries, and make by-laws for the government 
of the academies. 

d Vacancies in the boards of trustees are to be filled by cooptation. 

e The regents are to be visitors of such academies. 

/Scholars of academies, upon due examination by the president 
and professors of any college under the visitation of the regents, who 
shall be found competent are to be admitted to such college. But 
this privilege is granted only upon condition that the plan of education 
in such academies is approved by the regents. 

g Academies that are suf&ciently advanced may be erected into 
colleges by the regents. 

6. General provisions. 

a. There shall be no religious tests for presidents or professors. 

Z). No professor or tutor in any college or academy shall be a trustee 
of that institution, and no president or principal, being a trustee, shall 
have a vote as to his own salary. 

c. No "trustee, president, principal, tutor, fellow, or other officer 
of any college or academy [shall] be a regent of the university." 

The regent of the New York University is thus seen to be abso- 
lutely different in character to the regent in English universities. 
As a corollary to this prohibition the law provides that if any college 
or academy trustee is elected a regent, or vice versa, such person 
shall make election which position he wishes to occupy. 

7. The two former acts are repealed. 

The result of this law was twofold. Theoreticallj^ it lessened the 
rigor of State control of the system by emancipating the colleges from 
the actual government of the regents. Practically, it widened the 
scope of this State control by emancipating the regents from any 
tendency to monopoly of influence. The university immediately 
began a wide-reaching activity in the incorporation of academies and 
colleges. 

L'Hommedieu's plan of having all the colleges directly dependent 



THE FOUNDINa OF THE UNIVEESITY. 79 

upon the State by having their trustees appointed by the legislature 
was defeated. It was a bold plan and a grand one. But the love of 
self-government was too strong to allow so radical an innovation. 
And L'Hommedieu himself seems to have been vindictive rather than 
magnanimous in his proposal; for his same plan left to trustees of 
academies the right of filling vacancies in their boards. He was the 
champion of the academies. His proijosals concerning these institu- 
tions were mainl}^ enacted into law. He was apparently a champion in 
general of local interests. As first proposed, his scheme would have 
had a judge of the court of common pleas in every county and the 
mayor of every city in the list of regents ex officio. And in the matter 
of higher education he was the champion of direct political control. 
Colleges should have on their boards of trustees the mayors of the 
cities or the first judge of the counties where these colleges were situ- 
ated, the rest of the board to be made up by governmental appoint- 
ment. As the price of carrying through his measures in regard to the 
academies, he had to concede almost complete autonomy to Columbia, 
except in the matter of an official inspection by the regents. 

The regulations in regard to Columbia must necessarily be the 
model for future colleges. The idea, then, of a system of colleges in 
direct organic connection with the political system of the State was 
lost through the narrow zeal of the Columbia men for their college on 
the one hand and the equally narrow zeal of the academy men on the 
other. But the compromise was a distinct gain, and after a century 
of quiet and, if desultorj^, still efficient activity, this great organiza- 
tion stands to-day stronger and more active than ever before, and 
seemingly upon the eve of wider and more splendid achievements. 

The law of 1787 constituted the university upon substantially the 
same basis as that upon which it i*ests to-day. One effect of the 
change should be noticed. The idea of countj^ representation upon 
the board of regents was entirely lost. The regents became the agent 
of the State — an organ of centralized administration. But this was in 
a measure offset by the change in the manner of appointment. 
Instead of appointment by the governor and his council of appoint- 
ment, the regents were now appointed by the legislature, thus giving 
a far more popular character to their election. This was probably a 
concession to the assembly; for there existed in that body, as evinced 
by Mr. Lansing's opposition, a jealousy of a corporation endowed 
with such high prerogatives as the board of regents. 

The personnel of the new board of regents should also be remarked. 
The old Columbia men, including Hamilton and Duane, were made 
trustees of Columbia, and ended their connection with this State 
establishment. When it is remembered that this scheme was arranged 
in the compromise committee of the regents, it will serve as strong 
evidence of the party preference of these men in this struggle. While 
Hamilton and Duane thus remained with the college, Jay and Rodgers, 



80 HISTORY OE^ HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

of the Columbia appointees of November, 1784, went over to the new 
board of regents. There is no surprise at seeing L'Hommedieu still 
among the regents. The most notable accessions to the board of 
regents were Philip Schiiyler, Hamilton's father-in-law, and De Steu- 
ben, the sturdy German baron of Revolutionary fame. 

Hamilton or UHommedieu ? — For a century it has been assumed 
that Alexander Hamilton was the founder of the university. The 
shadow of his great name has lent a cherished dignity to the corpora- 
tion. J. C. Hamilton calls it "a bold effort of his genius," in his life 
of Alexander Hamilton. The regents themselves have ever loved to 
give currency to the tradition. If not Hamilton, who? So great an 
institution must have had a great father, and hence this corporate 
filia nullius has claimed descent from the prolific brain of Hamilton. 
What is the source of this tradition? The published works of Hamil- 
ton give no clew. They contain nothing of importance touching the 
university or educational matters in general. Mr. Lodge, printing 
the title of this act in a list of writings attributed formerly to Hamil- 
ton, comments thus: "Mr. Proctor, the editor of the forthcoming- 
edition of Hammond's Political History of New York, has, I think, 
shown conclusively that the act was the work of Ezra L'Hommedieu." ^ 
It was the writer's good fortune to meet Mr. Proctor, the secretary of 
the New York State Bar Association, at Albany, whose courtesy and 
valuable suggestions are here gratefully acknowledged. 

Mr. Proctor stated his arguments to the writer, who also read what 
had been printed by Mr. Proctor upon the matter. From the work 
already done by the writer, he was inclined to be more skeptical than 
Mr. Lodge as to the conclusiveness of Mr. Proctor's proof. The mat- 
ter seemed to demand a more extended and minute research than had 
been yet given to it. From the facts already detailed, but one con- 
clusion can be reached. The university is not the work of any one 
man. Whether the whole course of legislation be considered, or only 
the act of 1787, still it can not be said that any one man has even con- 
ceived the whole idea. There is only one man whose activity from 
first to last was constant in the construction and reconstruction of 
the university, and that man is neither Hamilton nor L'Hommedieu, 
but James Duane, the mayor of New York. He introduced the origi- 
nal bill into the senate in 1784, which was afterwards altered in the 
interest of Columbia. He was an infiuential regent from the start, 
and unceasing in his activity. He introduced in the senate the 
amendatory bill of November, 1784. He was chairman of the com- 
mittee which, on February 15, 1787, reported a plan of amendment, 
and he was a member of the final compromise committee of the regents 
of March 8, 1787. It is not, however, intended here to claim for Duane 
the whole honor of founding the university. These facts render it 
impossible, likewise, to attribute this honor chiefly either to Hamilton 

' Hamilton, Alexander. Works, ed. by H. C. Lodge, v. 9, p. 582. 



Aisr ERA OF EDUCATIONAL REVOLUTION. 81 

or to L'Hommedieu, neither of whom had any connection with the 
earliest founding, and who have been shown to be merely coworkers 
with Duane and Jay, and others, in the final reconstruction. At the 
same time it seems only just to say that, upon the final reorganization, 
the man who stands out most conspicuously for the broader educational 
ideas which have become dominant in this century is not Alexander 
Hamilton, but Ezra L'Hommedieu. Hamilton has been half deified, 
but we are not bidden to render even unto God the things that are 
Cesar's. The university of 1787 was a structure reared by many 
hands. ^ 



CHAPTER 3. 

AN ERA OF EDUCATIONAL REVOLUTION. 

Tlie University of tlie State of New York a revolution. — This survey 
of the period from the close of the war in 1783, until the definitive 
establishment of the system of education in New York by the act of 
1787, has made very evident the presence of a new spirit and new 
ideas in the matter of education. The old college had been, in its 
form and in its activity, an English educational corporation, serving 
private interests, controlled by private parties, distinctly under ecclesi- 
astical influence, looking to the State only as a means of obtaining 
occasional pecuniary aid, or extension of privilege, with no conscious- 
ness of identification with the political life of the State, or of duties 
toward the State. For the rest, private academies, elementary parish 
schools, or chance schools conducted by private masters, professional 
training acquired on the old plan of educational master and appren- 
tice; such was the condition. New York in 1784 would well exemplify 
the ideal of Herbert Spencer and his laissez-faire disciples. Indi- 
vidual initiative has no rival as a principle of educational enterprise. 
The State did not venture to usurp private " rights." 

Between 1783 and 1787 there was a revolution. An attempt on the 
part of King's College to capture a movement for the establishment 
of a university, and thus to revive the old corporation with greater 
immunities and franchises than before, was met by a popular opposi- 
tion to corporate encroachment, which ended in leaving to Colui^Ma 
only its own charter, with its government thereunder subject to the 
inspection and partial control of the State. While the acts of 1784 
were primarily in the interest of Columbia, and only secondarily in 

^ There is an interesting memoir of James Duane in the Documentary History of 
New York, vol. 4, p. 1 J61. It can not be supposed that a man of Duanes ability 
would have been a tool in the hands of others in all his activity regarding the 
university. There may, very probably, exist among the papers of Duane, if they 
have been preserved, evidence of the writer's conjecture that to him a large 
measure of credit is due for the establishment of the university. 
3176 6 



82 HISTORY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

the interest of the State, yet the movement toward the wider idea 
steadily grew until, in the act of 1787, the order of procedure was 
reversed. The university henceforth overshadowed the college and 
the system became a truly State system, of which Columbia was 
merely a part. 

The policy of the ecclesiasts, to emasculate freedom of thought and 
to retain direction of education by test oaths and regulations as to 
the creed of professors and teachers, was likewise defeated by positive 
legislative provision. 

ISTot only in these special practical matters had the new idea of 
popular political rights and duties in education become strong and 
aggressive, but an idea had impressed itself upon the imagination of 
the people, of a great educational system, coextensive with the politi- 
cal organization of the State, energized and controlled by the State, 
to be used for the good of the State. And this idea had taken form 
in an organization, which, while it was nominally a private corpora- 
tion, had yet no private interests to serve, which was so constituted 
that its controlling members must always be among the foremost men 
in the State, and whose "franchises, immunities, and privileges" 
were simply the most important functions of a State department of 
education, and these it was obliged to perform by being made account- 
able to the legislature which created it. With all this radical inno- 
vation, the State claimed no monojjoly of education. Complete free- 
dom was left to private individuals to establish schools and colleges 
independent of the State system. Chairs of divinity of any sect could 
be freely established in the colleges subject to State control. 

The principles of State education in New York were, that there 
should be a State system, that all who asked the benefits of the State 
S3^stem must submit to State control, and that the State regulations 
should be such as to permit and to secure the highest possible freedom 
to individual enterprise, both within and without the State system. 
Conservative as the founders of the university were by instinct and 
by tradition, they had yet grasped firmly the principle of the right 
and duty of State control in educational affairs. While to their con- 
servatism is due the corporate form of the institution, and the fact 
that it actually included in its scope onlj^ the higher and secondary 
schools, yet it was not many years before the more democratic idea of 
primary schools for the whole people developed into a fixed policy of 
the State, and became realized in the State department of public 
instruction already described. 

The revolutionary idea not English. — To one who recognizes con- 
tinuity^ in the institutional life of a people, the question naturally 
suggests itself, "Whence came these new ideas?" 

It is plain that they were not English in origin. The corporate 
form of the system, many details of its government, the leaning to 
clerical influence — these characteristics may well be considered Eng- 



AN ERA OF EDUCATIONAL EEVOLUTION. 83 

lisli. But the adaptation of the machinery to its un-English uses, the 
new motive power and directive energy and, above all, the idea of a 
symmetrical State system, freed from ecclesiastical influence — these 
were all foreign to the English character. The conservatism in the 
change was English. The progressive elements came from other 
sources. If any proof of this proposition is needed, it is readily 
furnished bj'^ the 

Contrast between the University and the English universities. — It is 
commonly said that Oxford and Cambridge furnished the models for 
the University of the State of New York. Oxford and Cambridge 
were groups of colleges associated in one great whole, called the uni- 
versity. Such it is true was also the University of the State of New 
York, and there can be little doubt that the English university organ- 
ization was the structural idea at the basis of the New York plan. 
But beyond this there is no real analogy. All the colleges of the Eng- 
lish university were situated in one town. The natural application of 
the English idea to New York at that time would have been to establish 
a university at New York City, where alone there was much demand 
for colleges, leaving to the future the development of similar institu- 
tions in other parts of the State. Again, the English university was a 
great self-governing institution with jurisdiction and legislative con- 
trol over territory; it was a corporation such as a chartered town, it 
had feudal immunities, it was a regnum in regno. The New York 
university, although a corporation with chartered rights, was yet a 
branch of the State government, created by the legislature, its mem- 
bership maintained by the legislature, accountable to the legislature. 
If some special administrative committee of the privy council in Eng- 
land had been granted a corporate form, its duties and responsibili- 
ties remaining the same as before — ^this would have furnished an 
analogy to the university in New York. "It had duties, not rights, 
in relation to the State. "^ And this unique State department was 
adapted with such prophetic skill to the future growth of the State, 
that from 1787 until the present day it has expanded naturally, with- 
out essential change, to meet every need of the State, and has become 
the inspiration of somewhat similar systems in other States and coun- 
tries. In this character of practical adjustment to new needs, it may 
be granted, the English spirit is indeed apparent. 

Again, federation is the principle of union in the English university 
system. Mr. Bryce, in an appendix to his work on the American Com- 
monwealth, draws a remarkable parallel between the federative sys- 
tem of English university government before their late reconstruction, 
and the government of the Federal Union of the United States. But 
federation did not describe at all the government of the New York 
colleges in the universit}^ They were not represented in the board of 

^ Buisson, M. L'enseignement superieur aux Etats-unis. (Revue Interna- 
tionale de l'enseignement, Oct. 15, 1886.) 



84 HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

regents. They governed themselves except for the supervision of the 
university, and this sujjervision was the authority of the State pro- 
ceeding outward from its center. The mild government which is exer- 
cised by the regents is imperial in its character. 

New York created a new personage under the name of "regent." 
This term seems to have been first used in the old University of Paris. 
It signified a master, who by his very character of master was quali- 
fied to teach. The name passed over to the English universities. A 
rule grew up that onlj^ those masters actually teaching the " regents," 
as distinguished from the nonregents, should have a right to vote in 
certain university assemblies. In the Oxford convocation and the 
Cambridge senate both regents and nonregents voted. The regent 
then combined the functions of teaching and governing. At Oxford 
by the Laudian Statutes of 1636, the government was practically put 
into the hands of the heads of colleges, and the colleges likewise in 
Cambridge acquired a larger control. New York seized the old officer 
and name and put them to a new use. The regents became the gov- 
erning and not the teaching body. The teaching and governing func- 
tions became entirely distinct. This use of " regent " has been copied 
by Michigan, and generally by the State universities in the West. 

Revolutionary idea in New Yorh before 178 J/.. — If the new revolu- 
tionary ideas wrought out in the founding of the university are not of 
direct English origin, they were at least partly indigenous to New 
York soil, and indirectlj^ English. We have seen the idea of State 
education struggling to the light in the laws of 1702 and 1732 for the 
establishment of grammar schools. But it is specially in connection 
with the founding of King's College that the new idea came most 
strongly into view. The many nationalities and religious sects in the 
colony tended to produce jealousy of any domination by a particular 
national or sectional element. 

"An act for vesting in trustees the sum of £3,443 18s., raised by 
way of lottery, for erecting a college within this colony," ^ passed 
November 25, 1751, appointed ten trustees for the fund. The mem- 
bers of the Church of England predominated, however, and- Trinity 
Church x3roposed to grant the college the use of land for its buildings. 
William Livingston, a Presbyterian and a graduate of Yale, a cultured 
and able lawyer, a writer of sprightly verse and vigorous prose, after- 
wards governor of New Jersey, led a determined crusade against the 
plan of procuring a royal charter for the college. He was afraid of 
the influence of the English Church, since that church so largely con- 
trolled the movement. His articles, published in the Independent 
Reflector ^ in 1753, speak with all the fervor and passion of the French 
writers of that period about the divinity of " reason" and the curse 
of ecclesiasticism. This William Livingston was spoken of by Presi- 

' Pratt's Annals (see Conv. proc, 1873, p. 191). 

^ These are printed in Pratt's Annals (see Conv. proc, 1873, pp. 194-234). 



AN ERA OF EDUCATIONAL REVOLUTION. 85 

dent Timothy Dwight as a man of most versatile ability. He was 
nicknamed the " Don Quixote of the Jerseys." He was delegate from 
New Jersey to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Henry Brock- 
hoist Livingston, one of the regents, was his son, and John Jay mar- 
ried his eldest daughter. He was a cousin of Chancellor Robert R. 
Livingston. 

The germ of the whole modern reform in education is contained in 
his arguments. This brilliant man represents at once the movement 
for jDositive knowledge of practical value, and for civil as against 
ecclesiastical control in education. "This, therefore, I will venture 
to lay down for a capital maxim, that unless the education we propose 
be calculated to render our youth better members of society and use- 
ful to the public in proportion to its expense we had better be without 
it." Education, he claims, "is to improve their (the youth) hearts 
and understandings, to infuse a public spirit and love of their coun- 
try, to inspire them with the principles of honor and probity, with a 
fervent zeal for liberty and a diffusive benevolence for mankind, and, 
in a word, to make them the more extensively serviceable to the Com- 
monwealth." ^ He refers to Plato, Aristotle, and Lycurgus as making 
" the education of youth the principal and most essential duty of the 
magistrate." It is thus to the old Hellenistic spirit that the modern 
world is ultimately indebted for the new education, an education 
which strives to be free from traditional bondage of every sort, w^liich 
is organized upon state rather than church foundations, and which 
seeks a knowledge practical rather than scholastic. 

It is interesting to compare Livingston's words with what Montes- 
quieu has said : 

"Political virtue, or virtue proper in a republic." writes Montesquieu, " is the 
love of country and of equality. It is in a republican government that the whole 
power of education is needed, for all depends upon the establishment of this polit- 
ical virtue, this love of the laws and of the country, this love which demands an 
habitual preferment of the public weal to one's own interest, and which is the 
source of all special virtues, for they are all nothing but this preferment.""^ 

And the Frenchman, like the American, mounts to Greek sources 
for his doctrine. 

Livingston has harsh words for the old colleges. "Freedom of 
thought rarely penetrates those contracted mansions of systematical 
learning." They are the source of "those voluminous compositions 
and that learned lumber of gloomy pedants which has so long infested 
and corrupted the world." ^ The proposed college, he claims, is to be 
a " public academy," and "a public academy is or ought to be a mere 
civil institution, and can not with any tolerable propriety be monopo- 
lized by Sbny religious sect." His plan for the charter and govern- 

' Independent Reflector, No. 13, March 23, 1753. 
'^ Esprit des lois, v. 4, ch. 5. 
^Independent Reflector, No. 17. 



86 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

ment of the proposed college contains several provisions which, while 
ignored in King's College as established; were triumphant in the 
organization of the university. Several features of his plan resemble 
strongly the French schemes of the next decade, which we shall pres- 
ently notice. 

1. He argues against a royal charter as being subject to the caprice 
of one man's will to change or repeal. 

2. "Societies have an indisputable right to direct the education of 
their youthful members." He bases this proposition upon the social 
nature of man and the obligations of civil government. " Sensible of 
this," says he, "was the Spartan lawgiver, who claimed the education 
of the Lacedaemonian youth as the inalienable right of the Common- 
wealth." 

3. He claims that, therefore, the "legislatures are the lawful guard- 
ians" of the college, and that it should be incorporated by "act of 
assembly" and "be under the inspection of the civil authority." He 
urges that private contributions will be inadequate to erect a univer- 
sity which would "arrive at any considerable degree of grandeur or 
utility. The expense attending the first erection and continual sup- 
port of so great a work requires the united aid of the public." If 
thus supported by the public, it ought to be created and superintended 
by the legislature. 

4. The advantages from such an institution are general and for the 
public good, and should be the public care. He asks: "Are the rise 
of arts, the improvement of husbandry, the increase of trade, the 
advancement of knowledge in law, physic, morality, policy, and the 
rules of justice, and civil government subjects beneath the attention 
of our legislature ? " 

5. He claims that the public control would prevent both domination 
by anj^ sect or party and corruption in the officials, and that larger 
private donations may be expected than if the college were under 
royal control. 

6. He would have no establishment of any particular religious pro- 
fession in the college. No Protestant was to be disqualified on account 
of his religious persuasion from sustaining any office in the college. 
There was to be no chair of divinity. 

7. "All the trustees are to be nominated, appointed, and incorporated 
by the act, and whenever an avoidance among them shall happen the 
same [shall] be reported by the corporation to the next sessions of 
assembly and such vacancy supplied by legislative act." The gov- 
ernor, the council, and the general assembly are all to concur in these 
elections. 

8. The election and deposition of the president by the trustees are 
to require legislative confirmation to be valid. "By this means the 
president, who will have the supreme superintendency of the educa- 
tion of our youth, will be kept in a continual and ultimate dependence 
upon the public." 



AN EKA OF EDUCATIONAL EEVOLUTION. 87 

9. The by-laws made by the president and trustees are also to 
require legislative approval to be valid. 

10. He would have the "act of incorporation contain as many rules 
and directions for the government of the college as can be foreseen to 
be necessary." The object of this is to preserve the "guardianship of 
the legislature " and prevent " arbitrary domination in the college." 
He would give inferior officers and students an action at law for every 
injurj^ against their rights. 

Here is seen the spirit of the American Revolution — the resistance 
to arbitrary power, the passion for self-government. 

11. He proposes the establishing by act of legislature of "two gov- 
ernment schools in every county," their "guardians" to be annually 
elected by the people of the countj^ and the expense of their main- 
tenance to be a county charge. This is one of the most remarkable 
features of his scheme. He conceives it to be necessary in order to 
secure the success of the college. They would be accessible to the 
young men in everj^ part of the colony and would become feeding 
schools for the college. But it is their public character which most 
draws our attention. He was a century in advance of the legislature 
of his State in his ideas, nor have we, indeed, yet advanced so far as 
his plan. 

Unless his plan for the college is carried out, he fears it may ' ' prove 
a perpetual spring of public misery; a cage, as the Scripture speaks, 
of every unclean bird; the nursery of bigotry and superstition; an 
engine of persecution, slavery, and oppression; a fountain whose 
putrid and infectious streams will overflow the land and poison all 
our enjoyments." 

After developing his ]3lan he issued, in No. 22 of the Independent 
Reflector, an address to the "inhabitants of the province" full of 
grandiose invocation to the "genius of liberty," the "awful name of 
reason," and the "spirit of patriotism." "When shall we have one 
interest," he exclaims, "and that interest the common good?" He is 
fearful lest "this precious and never-to-be-surrendered equality will 
be destroyed." He pleads: "Let us, therefore, strive to have the col- 
lege founded on an ample, a generous, an universal plan. Let not 
the seat of literature, the abode of the muses, and the nurse of science 
be transformed into a cloister of bigots, an habitation of superstition, 
a nursery of ghostly tyranny, a school of rabbinical jargon." "The 
legislature alone should have the direction of so important an estab- 
lishment," he continues. "In their hands it is safer — incomparably 
safer — than in those of a party who will instantly discern a thirst for 
dominion and lord it over the rest." His proposals and his address 
were in vain. The college received the royal charter. But the his- 
tory which we have traced of the attempt to found the university thirty 
years later was a fulfillment of his prophecy. It was the "thirst for 
dominion " of this same corporation which nearly succeeded in wreck- 
ing the movement for a university upon a broad civil foundation. 



I 



88 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YOBK. 

The fervid language of Livingston grates upon our ears to-day, but 
the chief practical features of his plan won a triumph in the final 
establishment of the university. The controversy over the founding 
of King's College foreshadowed the later controversy over the found- 
ing of the university. It is impossible not to conjecture that the 
founders of the university studied the plans of Governor Livingston. 

Era of educational revolution in America, 1776-1789. — But the 
current of revolution in education which produced the universitj^ in 
New York had wider sources than the broadsides of the versatile gov- 
ernor of New Jersey. It needs but a glance at the history of the 
United States from the Declaration of Independence till the organi- 
zation of the Federal Government to show as complete a revolution in 
educational ideas and plans as in political institutions. Everywhere 
throughout the new States, even during the turmoil and struggle of 
the war and the equally momentous turmoil and struggle of the 
reconstruction period, we see the new consciousness of political 
freedom and self-government expressing itself in efforts toward a - 
system of education free from the domination of old traditions, polit- 
ical and ecclesiastical. Nowhere is this tendency more apparent 
than in the provisions of some of the new State constitutions. 

Georgia. — The constitution of Georgia adopted in 1777 provides 
that "schools shall be erected in each county and supported at the 
general expense of the State, as the legislature shall hereafter point 
out."^ This was followed up by the legislature, which passed in 1783 
an act authorizing the governor to grant 1,000 acres of vacant land 
for the establishment of free county schools.^ 

The message of the governor of Georgia to the legislature in July, 
1783, urging the establishment of seminaries of learning suggests a 
doubt as to the originality of Governor Clinton in his similar message 
of January, 1784. The University of Georgia, founded in 1785, with 
its general supervision over the literary interests of the State and 
including within its organization all the public schools of the State,^ 
may well have been suggested by the plan of the New York Univer- 
sity. The same liberal spirit in religious matters is evident here. 

North Carolina. — The constitution of North Carolina adopted in 
1776 renders all clergymen incapable of sitting in any branch of the 
State legislature and forbids any established church. It provides: 
"That a school or schools shall be established by the legislature for 
the convenient instruction of youth, with such salaries to the masters, 
paid by the public, as may enable them to instruct at low prices; and 
all useful learning shall be (h\\y encouraged or promoted in one or 
more universities."* In 1789 the University of North Carolina was 

' Poore's charters, 1 : 383. 

"^ Jones, C. E. Education in Georgia (see Bureau of Education, circular of infor- 
mation No. 4, 1888). 
3 Jones. C. E. Education in Georgia, pp. 40-43. 
■* Poore's charters, 2 : 1413-1414. 



AN EEA OF EDUOATIOKAL EEVOLUTIOIS". 89 

established. Its trustees are appointees of the government. In its 
incorporation the duty of the State to provide for the education of the 
young is recognized. North Carolina had made many attempts to 
establish semipublic schools before the Revolution.^ 

Pennsylvania. — The Pennsjdvania constitution of 1776,^ adopted a 
few months earlier than that of North Carolina, contains, verbatim, 
the same provision in regard to the establishment of schools and uni- 
versities, except that a more direct political idea is seen in the fact 
that these schools are to be "in each county." Pennsylvania from 
the beginning has recognized to some extent the State idea in educa- 
tion. This idea is contained in Penu's charter. Penn himself dis- 
played some activity in this direction, and his grammar school founded 
in 1689 was a quasi public institution. Benjamin Franklin in 1749 
propounded a scheme for an academy with a system of elementary 
schools. This led to the establishment, a few years later, of an 
academy, which soon became a college, and grew eventually into the 
University of Pennsylvania. This institution was founded in 1779, 
in the very midst of the war.^ After the war the State activity in 
education greatly increased. 

Massachusetts. — Massachusetts was a Puritan protest against the 
domination of the church. The Plymouth colony brought ideas of 
public schools from Holland. The board of overseers of Harvard 
College was practically a public board of control. In fact it had some 
resemblance to the first board of regents in New York, except that it 
had control only over the single foundation, whereas the New York 
idea contemplated an organized system of educational institutions 
throughout the entire State. The educational revolution in Massa- 
chusetts may be said to have begun with the very founding of the 
colonies. 

Virginia. — The most notable of all these plans for an educational 
revolution was that of Thomas Jefferson. In 1776, as he tells in his 
autobiography, he conceived the idea that the whole code of Virginia 
must be reviewed and adapted " to our republican form of govern- 
ment. " He proposed a bill to revise the laws and was appointed on 
a committee, with four others, charged with this duty. In 1779 they 
presented their plan to the general assembly. Four bills especiallj^ 
were regarded by Jeiferson "as forming a system by which every 
fiber would be eradicated of ancient or future aristocracy; and a 
foundation laid for a government truly republican." These four bills 
were: For the repeal of the laws of entail; for the abolition of primo- 
geniture; for establishing religious freedom, and for a general sys- 

' Smith. C. L. History of education in North Carolina (see Bureau of Educa- 
tion, circular of information No. 2, 1888). 

^Poore's charters, 2, 1547. 

^Blackmar, F. W. History of Federal and State aid to higher education {see 
Bureau of Education, circular of information No. 1, 1890). 



90 HISTOEY OF HIGHEK EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

tern of education. This last measure was the work of Jefferson him- 
self. His "systematical plan of general education" is described by 
him as being proposed in three bills: "(1) Elementary schools for 
all children generally, rich and poor; (2) Colleges for a middle degree 
of instruction, calculated for the common purposes of life, and such 
as would be desirable for all who were in easy circumstances, and (3) 
an ultimate grade for teaching the sciences generally, and in their 
highest degree." There was to be a subdivision of the State into 
"hundreds or wards," in each of which should be an elementary 
school. He provided also for another subdivision into 24 districts, 
with a college in each. William and Mary College was to be enlarged 
in its scope and made into a university. The schools were to be 
supported by tax. 

Popular opposition to William and Mary College, which was a 
Church of England institution, defeated Jefferson's first plan, and 
thus delayed the educational progress of the State several genera- 
tions. But the plan stands as one of the greatest ideas of this philo- 
sophical statesman. It bears comparison with the plans of Turgot 
and his predecessors, with those of Mirabeau, Talleyrand, Condorcet, 
and Napoleon, and with the great system of New York which Jeffer- 
son himself pointed to in 1820 as putting to shame his tardy State. ^ 
Jefferson likewise dreamed, as did Washington, of a national univer- 
sity, which should stand for the united people and represent the 
national life. 

Political revolution and educational revolution. — It is significant 
that the same man who strove to disestablish the English Church 
in Virginia proposed also this great plan for public education. 
There is a real connection between these facts. Enough has been 
said to show how general among the colonies was the new idea of 
state education accompanying the political revolution. In the colo- 
nies, as in Europe, education had been regarded as the peculiar care 
of the church. It was the concern of the state only as the church 
was allied to the state. Nothing shows more clearly than the early 
educational enterprises in Virginia how the whole spring and scope 
of education was religious, ecclesiastical. It was such motives as the 
"training of the youth in piety and virtue," the providing of a 
"seminary of ministers of the gospel," the "educating of infidel 
children in the true knowledge of God," which led the colonists 

' An exhaustive account of Jefferson's activity in the development of State edu- 
cation is given by Dr. H. B. Adams in two of the monographs published by the 
Bureau of Education: "The College of William and Mary," circular No. 1, 1887; 
and '• Thomas Jefferson and the University of Virginia," circular No. 1, 1888. A 
collection of documents relating to public education in Virginia was published at 
Richmond in 1817. This book contains Jefferson's first bill of 1779, which pro- 
vided for elementary schools and colleges or grammar schools. It also has a letter 
from Jefferson to Peter Carr, written in 1814, detailing a similar plan. The 
volume has various other important documents relating to this subject. 



AN ERA OF EDUCATIONAL REVOLUTION. 91 

generally to establish schools. Before the middle of the eighteenth 
century few and feeble were the steps taken in America toward that 
fair old Platonic ideal of an education by the state and for the state. 
It was the revival in the latter half of the last century of the Greek 
state-idea, as against the Romish church-idea, which has led to the 
educational systems of our day. Against the idea of authority is 
opposed the idea of liberty. But the Americans did not discover or 
invent liberty. While in the essay of John Locke on education he 
does not advocate state activity, yet there is latent in the sensational 
psychology which he represents the spirit of freedom of thought, and 
hence the spirit of war against ecclesiastical control. A church may 
perhaps dictate a man's intuitions, but no church can dictate the 
impressions which things make upon sense. Revolt against ecclesi- 
asticism would naturally lead in educational matters to a substitu- 
tion of the state for the church. 

There is another reason why, upon acquiring independence, the 
American States founded public schools. Colonial governments 
founded on charters were in the nature of corporations. Some of 
these charters provided for the establishment of schools and churches. 
With the growth of colonial independence, with the transition from 
the consciousness of a corporate existence and activity to the con- 
sciousness of a political sovereignty, the idea of state education 
would be a natural one. The care of education, which had been a 
duty imposed upon the corporation by the royal charter, became with 
•the growth of self-government a right, no less than a duty, in the 
state. This explains the appearance in some of the colonies of insti- 
tutions partly supported and partly controlled by the colony. With 
complete independence would come the thought of complete state 
education. And here again it is necessary to pay tribute to John 
Locke. The English philosophy of political freedom, so well repre- 
sented in him, had taken deep root in all the colonies. His second 
essay on government, in which he defended the revolution of 1688, 
contains much of the very language of the Declaration of Independ- 
ence and of other political writings in the colonies, assertive of their 
civil and religious rights. Locke, indeed, went further than they. His 
attempted defense of private property, as resting on the rights of 
labor, is the very basis of the socialistic philosophy of this century. 

Educational revolution in Europe. — But the direct influence upon 
the colonists of the philosophy of Locke can not account for the 
whole revolt, for its depth and its intensity, and especially for the 
idealistic element; the dream of empire, the symmetry of plan, the 
centralizing tendencj^ The educational development in New York, 
and generally throughout the States, has been toward centralization, 
not federation, as a principle of union. If we turn our eyes to con- 
tinental Europe during this period, we shall see that the educational 
revolution was not merely American, but international. Frederick 



92 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

the Great was planning a systematic and centralized organization 
of education for the Prussian state, which he had been laboriously 
building up during his long reign from 1740 to 1786. Even Cath- 
erine of Russia was devising a new university for her realm. In 
Austria, Maria Theresa had well-nigh wrested the schools from the 
control of the church and had expelled the Jesuits. She began the 
reforms which her son, Joseph II, wrought out during that very 
decade which saw the establishment of the University of the State of 
New York. This idealistic and revolutionary ruler established 
between 1780 and 1790 an ideal organization of education — a grada- 
tion of state institutions, rising from elementary schools in the small- 
est districts, through gymnasia and lyceums, to the university. There 
were, besides, normal and industrial schools, and a thorough system 
of state inspection.^ 

France, the nursery of the educational revolutio7i. — It is not, how- 
ever, to Prussia or to Austria that we must look for the inspiration 
of the new educational ideas, but to France, to idealistic France, fco 
the France of the encyclopedia and the revolution. The three essen- 
tial ideas in nineteenth oentury education are: Freedom of thought, 
state control, and a centralized form of organization. It is Athens 
and Sparta and Rome brought back. It is to the French philosophers 
of the last century that we owe this Greek revival, and it is to French 
administration that we owe the revival of the imperial organization 
of old Rome. It was the methods of French absolutism which taught 
the early Prussian rulers the philosophy of centralization, and per- 
haps the highest justification of Frederick's title of " Great" was his 
capacity to appropriate and assimilate French ideas and French cul- 
ture. Stein was a disciple of Turgot. Joseph of Austria was an 
ardent follower of the French encyclopedists. His adviser in educa- 
tional matters, Gottfried von Swieten, by whose aid his reforms were 
planned, was steeped in the new French philosophy. Catherine of 
Russia applied to Diderot, the creator of the encyclopedia, for a plan 
for her j)roposed university. This plan, written in 1774, contains in 
outline the features of the reformed education.^ 

The mediaeval University of Paris was the model and parent of the 
chief universities in Germany and Great Britain. From the begin- 
ning this university was undemocratic, with a tendency to centrali- 
zation. But this spirit of centralization grew more rapidly in Paris 
than in Germany, England, or Scotland.^ The edict of Blois in 1579, 
proposed an organization into one system of all the universities of 
France — an idea which became realized in Napoleon's University of 
France in 1808. In England, on the contrary, the colleges grew to 

'Schmid. Encyclopsedie des Erziehungswesens, art. Maria Theresa, Joseph 
II, Oesterreich. 
-Diderot. Oeuvres completes (Tourneaux, 1876-77), vol. 2 and 3. 
3 Encyclopaedia Britannica, art. University (MuUinger). 



Ji 



AN ERA OF EDUCATIONAL REVOLUTION. 93 

govern the university.^ Before the colonization of America, the gov- 
ernment of the English university was largely decentralized. But 
France strove to apply to education, as to all parts of the social 
organization, the imperial idea of Rome. It is, however, in the 
secularization of learning and the revival of state education that 
France has achieved the most signal triumph. 

In 17(32 the Jesuits, who had previously controlled education, were 
expelled. B'rom this time until Napoleon established his new uni- 
versity in 1808 it was a period of ferment and revolution in educa- 
tional matters. The educational revolution in France preceded the 
political revolution. 

La Chalotais was one of the chief promoters of the expulsion of the 
Jesuits. The following year he addressed to the parliament a memo- 
rial, entitled, "Essay on national education or a plan of study for 
youth." It was translated into Dutch, Russian, and German, and 
gained a wide popularity. The system he urged was one of thorough, 
all round training for practical ends. The state ought to give to each 
person that education which was best suited to him. Men would be 
trained to become able servants of the state. "The children of the 
state ought to be taught by the state." A civil education should be 
substituted for the ecclesiastical education they had abolished. He 
goes back to Greece and Rome for his ideas. ^ 

Rolland d'Erceville was president of the parliament which expelled 
the Jesuits. He was a persistent enemy of the order and earnest in 
his efforts to build up a new national system. His report to the par- 
liament of Paris in 1768 contains a memorable plan for a national 
system of education. His great idea was to have the teaching bodies, 
the colleges, subject to the visitation and control, not of the bishops 
and clergy, as heretofore, but of a "bureau of correspondence," 
which was to be a branch of the secular government. The idea was 
precisely that which found practical form in the organization of the 
University of the State of New York. Both these men were followers 
of Rousseau, who exalted nature as the great teacher. "Natural 
liberty," "natural rights," were the watchwords of the party. Did- 
erot and the encyclopedists generally were of the same school of 
thought. It was a great revolt of the human mind against the prin- 
ciple of arbitrary authority — a revolt that extended to ever^^ depart- 
ment of man's activity. The natural sciences, positive knowledge, 
were exalted as against scholastic dogmatism. It was the theory of 
freedom and equality in the state, of religious tolerance, of sense as 
the source of knowledge. Again we turn to Locke as the immediate 



'Hamilton, Sir William. Essays. University and colleges. Printed in part in 
Barnard's American Journal of Education, vol. 24, p. 409. 

-The writer regrets that he has not been able to see this work, nor the report of 
Rolland to be next mentioned. He has relied on Buisson's Dictionaire de peda- 
gogie, and other acconnts of these two writers. 



94 HISTORY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

source of this movement. It was Locke who inspired Rousseau. But 
France was more priest-ridden than England and carried the doctrines 
to a feverish culmination. Conspicuous amid the crowd of writers 
who tried to bring order out of the chaos into which education in 
France had been thrown, stands Turgot, the great minister of state, 
who, while true to the new ideas, yet tried to revolutionize without 
destruction. 

It is interesting to contrast the educational theories of Adam Smith 
and Turgot, personal friends, and alike in much of their economic 
theory. Smith in 1776 published his Wealth of Nations, in which he 
advocates private enterprise as the one principle of education, except 
that he would have governmental activity to some extent in the pri- 
mary schools. In 1775 Turgot addressed to the King a Memorial on 
Provincial and Local Government. ^ In this work Turgot sought to 
show a way of rescue from the disasters that were threatening the 
nation. He finds the cause of the evil in the lack of order and of 
union in the social organization. The feeling of a common interest 
must be made evident. "Individuals must be attached to their fam- 
ilies, families to their villages or cities, the cities or villages to their 
arrondissements, the arrondissements to the provinces, and the prov- 
inces to the state." The means by which he proposes to bring about 
this social harmony is a national system of education. There should 
be a "Council of national instruction," which should have control 
over all "the academies, the universities, the colleges, and the pri- 
mary schools." It is a plan as socialistic in its character as that of 
Adam Smith is individualistic. These two men represent well the 
national differences in educational theory at that time. We can not 
here pursue this subject further. When the Revolution came, the 
question of education was one of the most prominent in the legislative 
bodies. Mirabeau, Talleyrand, and Condorcet and others presented 
reports and plans upon the subject of a national education. Ever 
since 1762 France had been flooded with writings upon the organiza- 
tion of education. The attempt by the civil authority to manage the 
schools failed for want of competent instructors, and the clergy par- 
tially regained control. 

In the drastic demolition of the Revolution the old university and 
existing schools were swept away. There was chaos until the admin- 
istrative genius of Napoleon created the University of France, the 
resurrection of the old imperial methods, but more symmetrical and 
scientific. The plans, multitudinous as they were from 1762 to 1808, 
were substantially of one type, a centralized organization, a graded 
system of instruction, primary schools in every commune for all chil- 
dren, lyceums in the larger divisions, colleges in the departments, a 

^Turgot. Memoire an Roi, sur les municipalities, sur la hierarchie qu'on 
poTirrait etablir entre elles, et sur les services que le gouvernement en pourrait 
tirer. (^See his Oeuvres. Paris, 1884, Vol. '^j p. 502. ) 



A-N ERA OF EDUCATIONAL REVOLUTIOISr. 95 

great university at Paris, a hierarchy of secular teachers to replace 
the hierarchy of the teaching orders. The state was to be the "all in 
all" of the sj'^stem. Education was to be universal, compulsory, and 
gratuitous. This educational despotism was taught with fervor by 
the revolutionists. 

Nothing is more striking in this great mass of writings than the 
revival of Greek ideas of education. The education is to be com- 
plete — physical, mental, and in the political virtues. It is an educa- 
tion for the state. In the reaction against clericalism the state is 
enthroned. Society takes the place of the church ; nature, the place 
of God. It is Greek through and through. Rousseau and others 
consciously follow^ Plato. In one plan it is even j^roposed to revive 
the Spartan training. We have seen how Franklin and William 
Livingston and Jefferson had planned in the same way. It was a 
period of general emancipation. No doubt it was partly spontaneous 
in Germany, in Austria, and in America, as well as in France. But 
new ideas fly far and fast. They do not respect national boundaries. 
The educational revolution of the last century was but a part of the 
same awakening to new life which found expression in political revo- 
lution and in the growth of science. It was the dawning of the new 
age, the second and the greater renaissance, the return of the nine- 
teenth century to classic Greece. And while the spirit was at work 
elsewhere, it was in the France of the latter half of the eighteenth 
century that we find the real nursery of the new educational ideas 
and systems. Thence they were transplanted into Prussia and Aus- 
tria, and, in this generation, into England. If Italy was the home of 
the earlier revival of learning, this later stream of humanism flowed 
from France. 

In Italy, where the renaissance began, the organization of univer- 
sities was democratic and the learning was secular. The University 
of Paris, centralized in its government and theological in its teach- 
ing, became conservative and obstructive to progress; and in the 
eighteenth century it was a democratic and secular impulse which 
wrought the later renaissance in France. But this new movement 
was a revolt, not against organization, but against the controlling 
forces. The French republican dreamers constructed systems of cen- 
tralized education. The nineteenth century thus learns from France 
a new doctrine in government — -an imperial organization, energized 
by popular freedom; a centralized administration, exercised by the 
people themselves; an imperial democracj^ Universitj^ and state 
alike are learning this doctrine. An organization truly democratic 
is anarchy. An imperial organization, with the imperium in the 
hands of the people, makes democracj'^ a reality.^ 

It is popular to-day to attribute the new education to Prussia, since 

' Some of the Western States are carrying this doctrine farther tha,n New York, 
and the regents of the university are elected directly by the people. 



96 HISTOKY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IIST ]SrEW YORK. 

but yesterday Prussia has humiliated France. Biit Prussia did not 
establish her State system till 1794, after the French plans had been 
spread throughout Europe and America, and after State systems of 
education had been actually established in America. There is 
scarcely a feature in the educational reforms of this century which 
was not planned and proposed in revolutionary France. It must be 
frankly admitted that Germany has built and consolidated her sys- 
tems upon such firm foundations that they are now models for the 
world. But ii is France whose ideas are here wrought into German 
life. This second Greece has led her captives captive, like the first. 
The German Empire, like a second Rome, has despoiled her intellec- 
tual benefactor. Upon cultured France has been laid the vicarious 
punishment for the barbaric dullness of Teutonic Europe. It is the 
French intellect which in art, in the scientific spirit, in political phi- 
losophy, in progressive thought, has saved European civilization to the 
world. 

Debt of New York to France. — The two great Americans most con- 
spicuously in sympathy with the French philosophy of their day, 
Franklin and Jefferson, both had planned sjvstems of education quite 
after the French pattern. The constitution of New York, promul- 
gated in 1777, solemn and formal document that it is, in the language 
with which it forbids to priests and clergy civil and military office and 
declares for freedom of thought in religious matters, shows the mixture 
of French Jacobinism in the thought of the new state. The first 
regents turned instinctively to France for aid. French sympathy and 
French alliance brought to America more than soldiers and money. 
Against absolutist Jesuitical France spreading from Canada the 
colonies fought side by side with England in the seven years war. 
But the defeat of absolutist Jesuitical France by external foes was 
followed by the defeat of the absolutist Jesuitical element within 
France by the rising spirit of democracy. And this spirit the New 
World shared with France. It was the gift of the English revolution 
of 1688 to them both. And from the close of the seven years war there 
was a growing interchange of thought and fraternal feeling between 
France and America. From the similarity between the French 5)lans 
for national education and the plans and systems of the States after 
our rebellion against England, there can be no doubt that the French 
schemes had been studied in America. The war had brought into 
close contact the leading men of every State. There was quick 
exchange of ideas upon questions of public policy. Franklin and Cad- 
wallader Golden, the colonial governor of New York, corresponded 
upon educational matters. John Jay returned from Paris to New 
York in the summer of 1784. He and Franklin had been close com- 
panions at Passy. Jay wrote from Paris that he thought his country- 
men had too high an estimate of institutions in France, and advised 
the education of American youth in America. After his return he 



ATT ERA OF EDUCATIONAL EEVOLUTIOIST. 97 

took a conspicuous part in the reorganization of the university, and. 
eventually went over to the more democratic party in that struggle. 
The new universitj^ was undeniably broader, more dominated by the 
new spirit, more truly a state institution than had been the university 
of 1784. In the constitutional convention of 1787 plans for a national 
university were mooted. These facts are but instances of those phe- 
nomena, occurring at the same time both in France and in America, 
which bj' their evident similarity create the strongest presumption of 
a reciiDrocal influence of the two countries upon each other in the 
progress of educational reform. And the weight of evidence goes to 
show that before the formation of our national government in 1789, 
the source of the new ideas was French, rather than American ; while, 
after the outbreak of the French revolution in 1789, the current runs 
from America to France. 

That New York is greatly indebted to France for the idealistic 
element in her university, there is one point of evidence which comes 
near to definite proof. The Chevalier Quesnay de Beaurepaire, a 
grandson of the great French economist Quesnay, after a year of 
service in the American army, left the army in 1778 on account 
of ill-health and took up the occupation of teaching. He became 
acquainted with the chief men in America. He was a true Frenchman, 
filled with the large revolutionary ideals of that age, and conceived 
a plan for a great academy at Richmond, which should overstep the 
national boundaries and make science and learning international. 
Dr. Adams, in his monograph on Thomas Jefferson and the University 
of Virginia, has described this project so vividly and so fully that it 
is not necessary here to enlarge upon it. It was called ' ' The Academy 
of Science and Letters of the United States of America," and was to 
be at Richmond. The "academy" consisted of the president, six 
councilors, a treasurer, secretary, and assistant secretary, a vice- 
president agent for European shareholders, the professors, teachers, 
and chief artists, 25 resident associates and 75 foreign associates. The 
academy at Richmond was to found similar academies at Baltimore, 
Philadelphia, and New York, the members of these academies to be 
members likewise of the academy at Richmond. The president, offi- 
cers, and councilors formed the "council of administration," which 
had charge of the actual working of the schools. A ' ' committee of 
correspondence " was formed at Paris, which was charged with the 
international work of the academy, such as correspondence with for- 
eign societies. The corner stone of the academy building was laid at 
Richmond June 24, 1786. Previously to this the founder had visited 
nearly every part of the ' country, endeavoring to interest the most 
prominent men of the different States in his scheme. A letter written 
by Mrs. Bache, the daughter of Franklin, to her father, then in Paris, 
showed the spirit in which the project was regarded. The letter is 
dated at Philadelphia, February 27, 1783. Mrs. Bache says: "With 
3176 7 



98 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

tMs letter you will receive a project^ for a French academy which is 
going to be erected here. The plan is a very extensive one and will 
be a great honor both to its projector and to America. If it can be 
carried out, it will not interfere in the least with the work of the col- 
leges, but will be designed to complete the education of young men 
after they have left the college." She urges Dr. Franklin to secure 
pecuniary aid, if possible, for "money alone is wanting." 

Between this date and the founding of the academy in 1786, Ques- 
nay visited New York. Whether his visit occurred before or after 
the university acts of 1784 can not be determined. The probability 
is that it was after that date, so short was the time between the 
evacuation of New York by the British and this legislation. 

He gives in the volume just quoted from, the history of which is told 
by Dr. Adams, the list of the men at New York whose approval and 
support he gained. They are Governor Clinton, Mayor Duane, Gen- 
eral Baron de Steuben ("the first in this State to adopt my project"), 
General Cortland (a son of the lieutenant-governor, regent ex officio), 
Colonel Bland, Dr. Cochran, the families Livingston, Hoifman, Hallet, 
and some others. The men whom this Frenchman impressed with his 
great scheme — his "Universal academy," as he thinks it might be 
called — are the very men who were then considering and debating the 
problem of a comprehensive system of education for the State. It is no 
longer a wonder that these reformers of education in New York formed 
large ideals. The quickening influences of the French imagination, 
which always overleaps its power of accomplishment, had only a benefi- 
cent and fruitful action upon the conservative and practical leaders in 
New York. It is significant that among the regents of the university, 
as reorganized in 1787 upon its broader and truly State basis, the name 
of Baron de Steuben appears. Unfortunately it seems impossible to 
trace what influence this man, the first in New York to approve the 
plan of Quesnay, had upon the legislation of 1787. Quesnay's project 
was not a cracked-brain scheme. It was indorsed by the Royal Acad- 
emy of Sciences at Paris. The Royal Academy of Painting and Sculp- 
ture used these words of approval : ' ' We admire the active constancy 
of M. le Chevalier Quesnay for this establishment. And no less do 
we admire the zeal of the United States of America in forming the 
project. This zeal is a eulogy upon the intellect, the character, and 
the great views of that republic, which, since its birth, has shown 
itself so interesting in all respects."^ Among the councilors of the 
committee of correspondence is found the name of Fourcroy, who 
became the adviser of Napoleon in the establishment of his univer- 
sity. Condorcet, whose plan for a national system of education con- 

' Quesnay de Beaurepau-e, chevalier. Memoire, statuts et prospectus, concer- 
nant L'Academie des sciences et beaux-arts des Etats-Unis de TAmerique, etablie 
a Richemond. Paris, 1788. 

2 Memoire, p. 14. 



AN ERA OF EDUCATIOlSrAL EEVOLUTIOlSr. 99 

tains nearly every measure of reform which the world has since 
adopted, was one of the foreign associates, as were likewise Lafayette, 
Jefferson (then minister at Paris), and Luzerne, the French minister 
at New York to whom the regents had applied for aid. Quesnaj^ does 
not seem to have been able to secure Hamilton's approval. But many 
American names of the highest eminence honor his plan. And this 
close relation between the thinkers of France and America bore fruit 
in the influence which American institutions have exercised upon 
France. The similarity which Napoleon's university of 1808 bore to 
the New York University of 1787 may not be a mere coincidence 
when it is seen that Condorcet and Fourcroy were thus early aware 
of what was being done in America for education. And Talleyrand's 
intimacy with Hamilton on his visit to America may not have been 
without effect upon the reconstruction of French education . If France 
may claim to have given to New York the ideal of a symmetrical State 
system of secular learning. New York may claim to have given to 
France the practical form of such a system, in its all-inclusive uni- 
versity corporation. 

The American State university . — The survey of the historical origin 
of the New York University is now complete. It was the work of no 
one man, of no one tendency. The whole of the colonial history of 
New York is a history of the growth of ideas and institutions which 
led to the establishment of the university. The Dutch brought the 
idea of free public schools for elementary teaching, but it was the 
idea of joint clerical and civil control. The higher learning was fos- 
tered after the English gained control. The French Huguenot refugees 
brought a spirit which readily united with the democratic elements 
among the Dutch and English. By the beginning of the eighteenth cen- 
tury the secular spirit was already opposing the spirit of the propagandist 
society, and the seeds of revolution were scattered throughout the 
colony by the English revolution and the writings of John Locke. The 
Whig and Tory struggle was known in New York as in England. In 
1702, and again in 1732, attempts were made toward a civil educational 
institution, and in 1753 Livingston waged a fierce war against ecclesi- 
astical and royalist domination in the proposed college. Already the 
political and educational revolutions were begun. At the same time 
the psychology and political philosophy of Locke were awakening the 
voices of the same twofold revolution in France, and the French 
philosophers flooded the world with the doctrine of the new civil edu- 
cation. While France was debating. New York was acting. The 
French ideas of secular education, of State control, of centralized 
administration. New York seized firmly. But, trained in English law, 
the New York leaders did not care so much for symmetrj^ and ideal 
completeness as for an organization which would conserve what was 
good in the past and would expand to meet the needs of the future. 
The French plans lost sight of the individual. Their system would 



100 HISTOEY OF HIUHEK EDUCATION IN NEW YOKK. 

have been socialistic. But individualism was dominant in New York. 
It was not until 1867 that the people of New York gave in finally to the 
idea of compulsory, universal, gratuitous instruction in the primary 
schools. This had been decreed by France in 1791. 

The Universitj^ of the State of New York was a skillful compromise 
between the new and the old ideas. It conserved to the full advan- 
tages of individual initiative, while yet extending the benefits of sys- 
tem, of harmony, of coworking in the various members of the educa- 
tional bod}^ and of organic connection with State life. It was neither 
English nor French. It was the American university, and as such its 
idea has largely given the impetus to the development of State educa- 
tional systems in the West. Wherever the "State university" is 
governed by a body of regents who have no teaching functions and 
who are appointed by the political authority and are accountable to 
the people in their political capacity there is found the influence of this 
unique invention, "the University of the State of New York." 



CHAPTER 4. 

A CENTURY OF UNIVERSITY WORK. 

It is not the purpose of this sketch to trace the history of the 
university since its founding. But the present work would be incom- 
plete without some further reference than was contained in the first 
chapter to the actual achievements and activitj^ of this institution. 

There has been scarcely any educational reform in the State of 
which the university has not been the promoter. It was the agitation 
of the university for common schools which started the movement 
that resulted in establishing the State system of primary instruction. 
In the training of teachers the regents have been specially active. 
Teachers' classes in academies were instituted by them in 1833, one of 
the earliest attempts toward normal schools in this country. In the 
incorporation of colleges and academies the university has endeavored 
by requiring a high standard of attainment and financial equipment 
to keep up the level of the higher education. They have finally been 
given, by the law of 1892, exclusive power of granting charters to 
educational institutions in order to prevent weak institutions from 
getting legislative charters. 

In the distribution of public funds to the academies they were led 
in 1864 to devise a method of general examination in the academies 
upon the basis of which the funds would be apportioned. Since that 
time the standard of work in the academies has become higher and 
more nearly uniform. The system, although defective in some par- 
ticulars, has been a very efiicient one, and is carried further at present 
than ever before. 

The direct activity of the university upon the colleges has been 



A CENTUEY OP UNIVEESITY WOEK. 101 

limited. In the law of 1787 Columbia won for herself and for all 
future colleges almost complete independence, and as yet there has 
been no marked tendency to give more vigorous control to the univer- 
sity. 

The university has conducted vainous scientific enterprises for the 
State, chief among which was the determination of the boundaries 
between New York and Pennsylvania, and between New York and 
New Jersey; the organization and care of the State museum of natural 
history, and the conduct and publication of observations in meteor- 
ology. Its care of the State library and publication of historical 
works have already been noticed. 

In nothing has the activity of the university been more beneficial 
than in the publication of its yearly reports. Since 1787 an annual 
report of the work of the colleges and academies has been regularly 
made to the legislature. "In 1835 the condition of colleges and acade- 
mies began to be published in greater detail, and from this time we 
may begin to date the series of educational statistics which illustrate 
so fully the history of the colleges and academies of New York, and 
in which this State stands alone." ^ The one hundred and second 
report (1887-88), for example, is a volume of nearly 1,000 pages, con- 
taining carefully prepared abstracts and tabular abridgments of the 
reports of all the colleges and academies in the State. These results 
give information upon courses of instruction, text-books, faculty, 
rinancial resources, apparatus, and libraries — in a word, upon all 
matters connected with the different institutions. Besides these 
reports the regents' report contains the laws and ordinances relating 
to the university and a full account of the proceedings of the convo- 
cation. 

The convocation is an institution of unique type. It was formed 
in 1863. It is composed of the regents, together with "all instructors 
in colleges, normal schools, academies, and higher departments of 
public schools that are subject to the visitation of the regents, and the 
trustees of all such institutions," ^ and representatives of the New 
York State Teachers' Association. Its objects are, by an annual ses- 
sion at the State capitol, to secure better mutual acquaintance, an 
interchange of opinion ujjon educational questions, greater harmony 
through the adoption of common rules, and thus to advance the 
standard of education throughout the State, and "to exert a direct 
influence upon the people and the legislature of the State, personally 
and through the press, so as to secure such an appreciation of a 
thorough system of education, together with such pecuniary aid and 
legislative enactments as will place the institutions here represented 
in a position worthy of the population and resources of the State. "^ 
It is a sort of sanctified lobby, justified by the sacredness of its cause. 

1 Hist, record, p. 71. ^ Conv. proc. 1869, p. 6. ^ Conv. proc. 1869, p. 9. 



102 HISTOEY OF HIGHEK EDUCATION IN NEW TOEK. 

Tlie discussions carried on at these sessions are of the utmost impor- 
tance in the educational work of the State. It is the only place where 
the various individual interests of the separate institutions can be 
represented. And while it has no authoritative voice, yet its efficient 
force in determining the policy of the regents and in affecting legis- 
lative opinion has been very great. Its proceedings are published, 
and among them are papers upon educational topics by the very 
highest authorities in New York and other States. It is growing in 
efficiency and in importance. The topics discussed are not merely 
the educational problems of New York State, but of the nation and 
of the world. The personnel of those who take part in the convoca- 
tion, likewise, makes it rather a national than a State institution. It 
is one of the important annual educational conventions held in the 
United States, and merits well the name of the "Congress of higher 
education," conferred by Chancellor Curtis. 

Univeesity Extension. 

The university has never undertaken the work of teaching. And 
wisely so. The educational needs of the State during this century 
have been mainly just in those lines where there has been most activ- 
ity, in the common schools and the academies. This was work 
which there was no need for the university to undertake directly. It 
is one of the greatest merits of the organization that it has been only 
the directive power of forces that spring from individual initiative. 

With the teaching done by the colleges the university has had no 
reason to vie. The many colleges in the State have, in the main, 
given opportunity to all who wished a higher education than the 
academies could give. But the advancing educational standards of 
this generation have created a new need. Both in England and in 
America it is coming to be the recognized duty of the colleges to 
extend their facilities as far as possible to those persons who can not 
come to the colleges. The university has been quick to acknowledge 
this duty. By the law of 1899, "the field of the university has also 
been extended to include the chartering not only of high schools, 
academies, and colleges, but also of libraries, museums, summer 
schools, correspondence schools, permanent lecture .courses, and all 
other institutions for promoting higher education,"^ and to "main- 
tain lectures connected with higher education in this State. "^ In the 
address just quoted from, Mr. Dewey has shown how admirably 
adapted is the system of organization of the university for this work 
as it is being done in England. He has already organized a successful 
library school at the State library. He proposes the formation of a 
great educational library and museum at the regents' office, with 

^ Dewey, Melvil. Extension of the University of the State of New York (see 
Conv. proc, 1889, p. 73). 
"University act, 1889 



A CENTUEY OF UNIVEBSITY WORK. 103 

sp'^cialists upon its staff, who shall be ready to give advice and direc- 
tion to the schools and libraries of the State. He proposes a real 
extension of the work done in all its departments. It is a part of his 
plan that the State library and State museum, which are parts of the 
university, should form the central institution of multidinous local 
libraries and museums to be established throughout the State in 
organic relation to the university. In connection with these local 
libraries and museums he would establish university extension lec- 
tureships similar to those of England. His ideal is the democracy 
of learning, a higher education brought within the reach of all. The 
scheme is full of promise for the future. Already several important 
steps have been taken toward its accomplishment. 
In July, 1889, the regents passed the following resolution: 

Resolved, That the regents recognize as an important feature of the work the 
extension of university learning and culture to those who are unable to take the 
regular course in a college or university. 

They then appointed a committee on university extension to report 
at the next annual meeting. At the convocation of 1890 a committee 
of representatives of the colleges and universities of the State was 
appointed to confer with the regents. Presidents Adams of Cornell, 
Low of Columbia, Hill of Rochester, Webster of Union, and Taylor 
of Vassar constituted this committee. In their report to the regents 
in February, 1891, they use this language: 

Resolved, That in the judgment of this committee the time has come when the 
best interests of higher education in this State demand that the regents should 
undertake the establishment and supervision of a State system of university exten- 
sion, including not only lectures, but such conferences, examinations, and certifi- 
cates of work done as experience may have proved to be desirable and practicable. 

Resolved, That in order to maintain a high standard of instruction it is essen- 
tial that the regents work through the representatives of the universities and col- 
leges of the State as a committee having charge of the details of instruction and 
examination. 

The regents thereupon took immediate action. They made their 
committee on university extension a standing committee, and provided 
for a permanent successor to the committee of colleges by the estab- 
lishment of a university-extension council composed of representatives 
of the colles'es. They also resolved to ask aid of the legislature. 
Their appeal was promptly and generously met by an appropriation 
of $10,000 for the use of the university in promoting university exten- 
sion in the State of Xew York.^ 

In June, 1891, the regents' standing committee made a valuable 
report, from which the following extracts are made as showing the 
aim and scope of the work undertaken : 

In the conception of your committee, university extension, as contemplated by 
the regents of the university, means extension to the people at large, adults as 
well as youths, of the best obtainable opportunities for education, 

1 Laws, 1891, ch. 303. 



104 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

In execution of the authority heretofore given them to begin and carry on the 
work of university extension, your committee design, among other things, to 
prepare and issue, from time to time, circulars, bulletins, syllabuses, suggested 
courses of reading and study, and plans for local organizations therefor; to ascer- 
tain the fitness of and accredit teachers and lectiirers who desire to engage in the 
work of university extension, and aid localities, organizations, and associations in 
selecting suitable instructors: to procure and keep on hand, by piirchase or by 
printing and reprinting, original and other matter of educational value in con- 
nection with the development and execution of the system of university extension, 
and to circula^te the same, gratuitously or otherwise; and to provide for apparatus 
and collection of books and specimens, to be loaned or otherwise furnished from 
time to time to localities, organizations, or associations in this State engaged in 
educational work — using therefor also any of the properly available books, speci- 
mens, apparatus, or other i^roperty of the university. 

Carefully fostered and wisely developed, university extension will well round 
out and complete in the State of New York an educational system whose influence 
may reach all of the people. For those who can avail themselves thereof our 
common schools, our academies and high schools, and our colleges, universities, 
and technical schools will cover the whole field of human learning; while the 
university- extension department will leave none beyond the possibility of such 
enlightenment as is needful for human welfare and happiness, as well as for good 
citizenship. 

To meet the demands of tlie new enterprise, the regents at the same 
time greatly enlarged their system of examinations and regulations 
for the granting of certificates and diplomas. 

This machinery for the extension of university teaching has 
already been put in operation. Successful courses of lectures have 
been given and organized centers established for the permanent car- 
rying on of this work. Progress is likely to be slow. True to its 
traditions the university has confined itself to stimulating and fos- 
tering individual local ambition. No part of the State appropriation 
is allowed to be used in payment of lecturers' fees or other expenses of 
a local course of lectures. The money of the State is for administra- 
tive purposes only which shall further the general scheme. Local 
benefits must be gained by the enterprise, both moral and financial, 
of the locality. 

It is too early to predict the eventual success or failure of this 
experiment. But the success of the movement in England, and of 
similar work done by various organizations in this country, indicates 
that the times are ripe for such an educational movement. The 
unique organization of the university would seem to have been spe- 
cially designed for this work. The London and the Victoria univer- 
sities are copying some features of the New York University to better 
enable them to meet new educational needs. The men who founded 
this imperial university "builded better than they knew." 

Looking at the peculiar organization of education in New York, it 
seems as if success were largely dependent on cordial and wise coop- 
eration between the university and the colleges. If they do not work 
together the cause is lost in the State of New York. In the university 



A CElTTUBy OF UNIVERSITY WORK. 105 

council the colleges obtain a qualified representative in the manage- 
ment of this department of the regents' work. The colleges wisely 
insist that the standards of higher education shall not be lowered. 
The moral force of college opinion should maintain in university- 
extension work the high standard of collegiate attainment. If the 
colleges hold aloof the work will necessarily be of a lower type. It is a 
great opportunity of the colleges to spread their efiPective influence into 
every corner of the State, and make themselves more than ever an 
essential element in the life of the people. The time has come when 
knowledge must be democratic. It is the dutj' of the colleges, as the 
conservators of knowledge, to see that in this growing democracy of 
learning the standards are not lowered. 

The University's Opportunity. 

There are, however, other educational needs of the American people 
which it may become the proud destiny of the University of the State 
of New York to satisfy. University extension is merely a new method 
of teaching. It does not solve the question as to what shall be taught. 

In American education there are these defects : In the first place, 
there are not sufficient facilities for original and deep research — 
the pursuit of truth for its own sake. Secondly, there are no schools 
designed to train persons for the public civil service. Thirdly, the 
general education of the people in the principles of political economy 
and of civil government is not recognized as the duty of the State. 
It lies within the grasp of the regents of the University of the State 
of New York to immortalize themselves by taking the lead in these 
educational reforms. 

1. School for graduate worTc. — For the prosecution of original research 
the university possesses signal advantages. 

The massive State capitol which towers above the city of Albany, 
and upon which New York has lavished her millions, has been declared 
by the late Professor Greeman, of Oxford, to be the finest specimen 
of American architecture. The library of the State, now housed in 
this building, is a rich mine of historical material, the resources 
of which are not adequately used — not even adequately known. As 
the writer was carrying on research there in the summer of 1890 he 
was oppressed with the sense of the failure of the people of the State 
to utilize these treasures of learning. The law library is probably 
unsurpassed in the United States, yet is practically little used. The 
general library with its 160,000 volumes, its vast collections of manu- 
scripts and documents, is scarcely visited except by the passing trav- 
eler. The legislative and executive collections of documents are in 
requisition during the sessions of the legislature, but are otherwise 
virtually useless. The idea impressed itself upon the writer that in 
the university itself, the history of which he was writing, existed the 



106 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

very organization which could develop into its wider usefulness these 
libraries under its control. 

Here is an opportunity for this great university to advance the inter- 
ests of the highest learning, to utilize these unused materials, to offer 
to students the best advantages for original research, and to make 
the university itself a more powerful and efficient body than it has 
ever been. The law of 1889 gives the university express power to 
maintain lectures connected with higher education in the State. The 
State capitol is such a university building as exists nowhere else in 
the world. In Albany is centralized the whole administration of the 
State. The executive offices are all located there. The legislature 
and the court of appeals sit there. Except in the national capital no 
such collection of material for the study of history, economics, statis- 
tics, finance, and the science of administration exists in the United 
States. It would need merely the establishment of a few professor- 
ships, under the direct management of the university, to. develop in 
a few years a graduate school of economic, historic, and political 
science unsurpassed in the world. 

The graduates of the colleges in the State or from other States could 
here pursue a regular course of study for higher degrees. A school 
for the higher and philosophical study of the law has become a cry- 
ing need of the times. With a few additions to the library of author- 
ities upon Roman and Teutonic systems of law to supplement the 
magnificent collection of works upon American and English law 
already upon the shelves, the study of historic and comparative juris- 
prudence could be carried on by those students who wish to learn 
more than the i)ractical business of law. Students in economic and 
political subjects would have for their use not merely the statistics 
and collected information of the various State departments, but would 
likewise see the practical workings of those departments. Besides 
the offices of the governor, secretary of state, controller, and treasurer, 
there are the offices of the railroad commissioners, canal commission- 
ers, the bank department, the insurance department. State census, 
land office. State agricultural society, forestry commission, Indian 
affairs, bureau of labor statistics. State boards of health and charities, 
of arbitration, of factory inspection, and several others. The legis- 
lature itself would be a practical school of political science. Every 
facility is at hand for research in every department of political science 
and political economy. No other university would have so admirable 
an equipment. In historical science likewise the material is at hand. 
It was the original design of the university to confer the higher 
degrees. With the work done by academies and colleges the univer- 
sity would not interfere. But in this field of original research lies the 
proper direction of the activity of the university. This corporation, 
with its historic dignity, thus would become in truth the head and 
crown of the educational system in the State. It would strengthen, 



A CENTURY OF UNIVEKSITY WOEK. 107 

not rival, the work of the colleges. The spirit of research has seized 
our American universities. In the past twenty yeai's they have leaped 
a long way forward toward the standard of the best European insti- 
tutions. 

But more schools for graduate work are needed. The older colleges, 
hardened and gnarled by the process of historic growth, can not quickly 
and easily be adapted to meet the new demands. The University of 
the State of New York, in the lines of its organization and the method 
of its government, was predestined at its birth for this higher work. 
Leaving undergraduate training to existing colleges, its hands would 
be free for encouragement of the most advanced scholarship. 

New York iu the old university, of which she is justly proud, has an 
institution which could shortly lead all the universities of America in 
this special type of learning. 

2. An acade'my for tlie training of civil officers. — The need of a 
purer and more efficient civil service is everywhere recognized. That 
the best way to accomplish this end is by means of proper training 
schools is an idea likewise common to many minds. Washington, in 
the same sentences in which he recommended the establishment of the 
West Point Military Academy for the training of army officers, urged 
the necessity of a national university, one of the chief aims of which 
would be training in the science of government. Mr. Casper T. Hop- 
kins, in a thoughtful and suggestive pamphlet, recently published in 
San Francisco with the title, "Shall we educate our politicians? " even 
goes so far as to urge the necessity of a special education and training 
for our legislators. He would have special schools of "statecraft," 
with the degrees of bachelor, master, and doctor of statecraft. For 
the main thesis of his pamphlet, that a higher type of politician can 
be expected only as the result of special training, he presents a series 
of able arguments supported by telling facts. 

Prof. H. B. Adams, in his monograph on the College of William and 
Mary, has made some admirable suggestions in regard to a "civil 
academy at Washington." 

By adapting to New York conditions some of the proposals of Pro- 
fessor Adams, it will become clear that New York has all the machin- 
ery needed for what he calls "the promotion of the higher political 
education in practical ways." He says: "A civil academy for the 
training of representative American youth would be as great a boon 
to the American people as the military and naval academies have 
already proved." He speaks of New York as uniting two systems of 
appointment of students, "the West Point plan of taking student 
appointees from Congressional districts and the Cornell University 
plan of student appointments for merit." He recommends that such 
"student appointees or Government fellows" should be under the 
direction of an educational commission, which should have in charge 
the government of the academy. New York already possesses such a 



108 HISTORY OF HIGHEE EDUCATIOlSr IN NEW YOEK. 

commission iu the regents of the nniversit}^ ' ' A few lecture rooms 
and a working library would suffice. The students should be instructed 
in physical, historic, and economic geography; in political, constitu- 
tional, and diplomatic history; in the modern languages; and in all 
branches of x^olitical science, including political economy, statistics, 
forestry, administration, international law, comparative methods of 
legislation, and comparative politics. Instruction should be given in 
class sections (as at West Point) and in public lectures by Govern- 
ment experts and university specialists, who might be engaged from 
time to time from different institutions for such services." It is inter- 
esting to note that this ' ' merit " system of appointments is an old one 
in IsTew York. In the law of 1732 for the establishment of "a public 
school in the city of ISTew York," already described, there is a provi- 
sion that the schoolmaster shall teach, free of tuition, "the number 
of 20 youths. " They are to be recommended in a certain proportion 
from the various counties of the colony. " For the cities and counties 
of New York and Albany, by the respective mayors, recorders, and 
aldermen thereof, and for the several counties by the justices of the 
peace at the general sessions to be held for those counties respectively." 
In the recommendations it was to be certified that "they have been 
well instructed in reading and writing of English. "^ By a judicious 
revival of this principle a body of picked young men from every part 
of the State could be trained at Albany under the direction of the 
State university to enter into the high civil service of the State ; and 
New York could then not only secure a better civil service in her own 
departments, but her trained specialists would find their way into 
every department of the civil service in the other States and in the 
national civil service as well. It would be another instance of the 
leadership of New York among the States. In this academy it would 
be necessary for the university to do work of collegiate grade. No 
private college could maintain the required discipline. The students 
must be made to feel that civil service is no less a duty to the State 
than army service. A military discipline would have to be enforced, 
and the direct authority of the State alone could do this. 

But the very special character of the academy and the necessarily 
limited number of students who could have the privilege of attendance 
would prevent any interference with the work of the colleges. This 
school would fill a place which the colleges do not fill in any sense. 
It is the duty of the State to attract to its service the best talent of 
the State and to train that talent to the service of the State. This is 
specially necessary at this time when so much of the best intellect of 
the country is allured into the employ of gigantic private corporations. 
The State ought not to hold out enormous pecuniary reward to tempt 
talent to public ofiice. But it is within the power of the State to create 
a sentiment which shall place the honor of the public service above 

^ Pratt's Annals (see Conv. proc. 1869, p. 187). 



A CENTURY OF UNIVERSITY WORK. 109 

mere pecuniary reward. A civil ' ' West Point " would do much toward 
this end. 

3. Oeneral education in economics andpolitics. — The scholarly studj^ 
of political economy and of the principles of civil government is 
essential to a really successful professional or business career. 

When one considers that political issues have become in these later 
years mainly economic, the importance of a general education of the 
people in the scientific aspects of their industrial life becomes clear. 
It is necessary that our legislators and our executive and judicial 
officers shall understand the effects upon industry, of changes in 
governmental policj^, and that they shall be impressed with the im- 
portance of having the economic welfare of the people always before 
them as the goal of their activity. It is necessary that professional 
and business men shall understand the relations between the indus- 
trial life of the people and the laws and policy of the Government. 
They must be prepared to bring the force of their opinion to bear 
upon the public opinion of the country in the face of proposed legis- 
lation. For the safe conduct of their business likewise it is essential 
that they should grasp the scientific principles of their business as 
well as its practical rules. 

Again, it is superlatively necessary that ur people generally should 
learn something of this economic science which is becoming in our 
industrial age the great science. Our rulers are chosen from the 
body of our people by the people themselves. Unless the whole 
people are trained in economic and political science, how can intelli- 
gent elections or intelligent legislation be had? Industry is vastly 
more important than war to-day. If this country is to achieve the 
progress it is capable of, the first thing necessary is a right economic 
policy wisely chosen and firmly pursued. In the omnipresence of the 
elective system of government this can never be accomplished with- 
out the general education of the people in the principles of economic 
science and of civil government. 

The University of the State of New York has a magnificent oppor- 
tunity to further this end. The graduate school and the civil academy 
above spoken of would be great aids in this work. They would reach 
directly, however, only limited classes. To make their work elfective 
along these lines they must adopt the policy of propagating every- 
where the idea of this general political education. They might spe- 
cifically do this in two ways. First, they might encourage the estab- 
lishment in all the colleges and academies of the State of schools or 
departments devoted to economic and political science. They might 
even make this one of the conditions for the admission of new insti- 
tutions into the university. Secondly, they might, in their university 
extension work, make economic and political education the most prom- 
inent and important work. This is specially demanded of a State 



110 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

university. Its duty is toward the State. The industries of the 
people are tlie life of the State. In the plan of university extension 
adopted by the university lies a most efficient means of promoting in 
every part of the State better knowledge of economic and political 
science and of stimulating the ambition of the people to know more 
of these subjects. It would likewise become a great agency in find- 
ing and leading out into a public career the special talent that might 
lie hidden in remote corners of the State for lack of opportunity to 
develop. 

For work along the three lines thus pointed out the adaptation of 
the University of the State of New York is apparent. Its libraries; 
its museum ; its facilities for jjublieation ; its coordination of graded 
institutions, ramifying into every part of the State; the eminence 
and dignity of its regents ; its central bureau, so efficiently organized ; 
its powers, entirely adequate for the maintenance of its lectureships, 
for examination and conferring of degrees; its university extension 
methods, so successfully inaugurated; its convocation, bringing to 
a focus at the center of government the educated public opinion of 
the State ; its close organic relation to the legislature — these are all 
characteristics fitting the university to undertake this task. 

The graduate work could begin immediately in several departments. 
For example — 

1. A graduate school in history and political science, including 
jurisprudehce in its various branches, international law, Roman 
law, comparative jurisprudence. 

2. A graduate school in economics. Besides the theory of eco- 
nomics, public finance, agriculture, forestry, meteorology, banking, 
insurance, railroads and canals, and other like subjects could be 
investigated in their economic aspects. 

3. An advanced school in pedagogics and library straining. The 
State Normal College could be affiliated, and, together with the State 
library, made the basis of this school. 

4. A school for advanced scientific work in connection with the 
State museum, and by proper affiliation with the best scientific and 
technical schools in the State. 

The object of these schools should be research. From them should 
come learned experts, who could become professors and writers in 
their specialties. 

The civil academy, having for its object the training of men and 
women for intelligent civil service, would have the same facilities at 
its command. The university, besides founding professorships, could 
obtain for special lectures in both these schools eminent professors in 
the colleges of the State and the specialists in the State departments. 
Only graduates of the colleges, of the civil academ}^ and others who 
should pass satisfactory examinations set by the regents should be 
admitted to the graduate school. The university should there under- 



A CENTURY OF UNIVERSITY WORK. Ill 

take only the most advanced work. Graduates of the colleges, instead 
of going to Europe to carry on their researches, would prefer to come 
to Albany, where they would be more likely to have the opportunity 
of entering the employ of American universities and of their State or 
the National Government. The whole country would look to the Uni- 
versity of the State of New York for its trained specialists, whether as 
teachers or as civil officers. The high degrees conferred by the uni- 
versity could be made the most honorable of any in these United States. 
In the one institution of the university would be realized the most 
hopeful ideas in American education to-day — the Johns Hopkins 
University idea of the highest learning, the West Point idea of spe- 
cial training for the public service, and the idea of emphasizing eco- 
nomics and political science as studies of the first importance in a 
general education, and the university extension idea of making avail- 
able to all classes of the people all the facilities of the higher educa- 
tion. The university itself would become a true academy of science 
and letters, with international influence and a world-wide fame; and 
perhaps at some time not far distant the Government of the United 
States, again learning from New York, would carry this innovation 
to the capital of the nation and thus fulfill the dream of Washington. 



• BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

1. New York (State) Senate and Assembly. Journals, specially for the years 

1784-1787. 

These have been carefully gone over by Daniel J. Pratt, a former assistant secretary of 
the regents, and extracts made of nearly all entries relating to the founding of the univer- 
sity. These extracts are printed in Pratt's Annals. Mr. Pratt has omitted very few things 
of importance. 

2. New York (State) Legislature. Acts May 1, 1784; November 26, 1784; 

April 13, 1787; and Laws of 1889, chapter 529. 

To be found in various forms, notably the first three in the Historical and Statistical Rec- 
ord, and the last in the One hundred and third Regents' Report. 

3. New York Legislative Papers. Nos. 382, 383, 385, and 388. 

These have been described in the body of this work. 

4. Pratt, Daniel J. Annals of public education in the State of New York, from 

1626 to 1746. Albany, 1872. 

Published in a separate volume, but also in the University Convocation proceedings for 
the years 1868, 1869, 1872, 1873, 1875, 1883. This is a most valuable " collection of the official 
acts and historical records relating to public education " in New York. The first part cov- 
ers the Dutch period, from 1626 to 1664, and is preceded by an excellent account of the sources. 
The second part covers the period from 1664 to 1746, or the English colonial period, down to 
the movement for founding King's College. The third part is "Legislative grants and fran- 
chises enacted for the benefit of academies," and extends from 1786 to 1873. The fourth part 
relates to the founding of King's College, extending from 1784 to 1787. The sixth part begins 
at 1787 and gives the proceedings of the regents and legislative action in behalf of literature. 
It stops with 1790. 

5. New York (Statej University. Minutes of the regents, from 1784 to 1787. 

Printed in Part V of Pratt's Annals. The original records are kept by Columbia College. 
A copy is held by the regents. 



112 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

6. New York (State) University. Annual report, 1827 to date. 

There are 105 annual reports. These have not been greatly serviceable for the period 
covered by this monograph, except for the act of 1889. 

7. New York (State), Public Instruction, Superintendent of. Annual 

report, 1855 to date. 

The report of 1890 was the thirty-sixth. The reports for 1884 and 1886 have been used in 
the sketch of the system of primary schools. 

8. Hough, Franklin B. Historical and statistical record of the University of 

New York during the century from 1784 to 1884, with an introductory sketch 
by David Murray, Ph. D., secretary of the board of regents. Albany, 1885. 
Chadbourne, Paul Ansel, and Moore, W. B. State of New York; the public 
service of the State of New York. Boston, 1882. 

A work in three huge quarto volumes. Volume 3 has an extended account of the educa- 
tional systems of New York. 

10. United States. — Education, Bureaa of.— -Monographs. 

Notably those by Dr. Adams on "William and Mary College" and on " Thomas Jefferson 
and the University of Virginia" — that of Dr. Blackmar on "Federal and State Aid to Higher 
Education," and those on "Georgia," by C. E. Jones, and "North Carolina," by Dr. Smith. 

11. Turcot, Anne Robert Jacques. Oeuvres, volume 2. Paris, 1884. 

12. BuissoN, Ferdinand Edouard. Dictionaire de pedagogie. 

13. SCHMID. Encyclopadie des Erziehungswesens. 

14. QuESNAY DE Beaurepaire, Chevalier. Memoire. status et prospectus, con- 

cernani I'Academie des sciences et beaux-arts des Etats Unis de L'Amerique, 
etablie a Richemond. Paris, 1788. 

15. Sundry documents on the subject of a system of public education for the 

State of Virginia. Richmond, 1817. 

16. SiCARD, Abbe. History of education from 1762 to 1808 in France (see Le corre- 

spondant, new series, Nos. 79, 82, 84, 86, 87, and 88). 

17. Draper, Andrew S. Origin and development of the New York common- 

school system, Albany, 1890. 

18. Curtis, Chancellor George William. The University of the State of New 

York; an address delivered at the university convocation. Albany, 1890. 
(Regents' bulletin. No. 2, 1890.) 

19. Howard, Prof. George E. Evolution of the university; annual address 

before the alumni association of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln, Nebr., 
1890. 



APPENDIX. 

State Constitution, Article 9. 



i 



1. Common schools. — The legislature shall provide for the maintenance and 
support of a system of free common schools, wherein all the children of this State 
may be educated. 

2. Higher education.— The corporation created in the year 1784, imder the 
name of the regents of the University of the State of New York, is hereby continued 
under the name of the University of the State of New York. It shall be governed 
and its corporate powers, which may be increased, modified, or diminished by the 
legislature, shall be exercised by not less than nine regents. 

3. Educational funds. — The capital of the common-school fund, the capital of 
the literature fund, and the capital of the United States deposit fund shall be 
respectively preserved inviolate. The revenue of the said common-school fund 
shall be applied to the support of common schools, the revenue of the said litera- 



A CENTUEY OF UNIVEESITY WOKK. 



113 



ture fund shall be applied to the support of academies, and the sum of $25,000 of 
the revenues of the United States deposit fund shall each year be appropriated to 
and make part of the capital of the said common-school fund. 

4. Restriction of subsidies. — Neither the State nor any subdivision thereof 
shall use its property or credit or any public money, or authorize or permit either 
to be used, directly or indirectly, in aid or maintenance, other than for examina- 
tion or inspection, of any school or institution of learning wholly or in part under 
the control or direction of any religious denomination or in which any denomi- 
national tenet or doctrine is taught. 

(See also ordinance 4, page 466.) 

University Law. 

[Laws of New York, 1892, chapter 378, as amended to June, 1897. j 
AN" ACT to revise and consolidate the laws relating to the University of the State of New York. 

The people of the State of Netv York, represented in senate and assembly, do 
enact as folloios: 



1 Short title. 


§ 34 Powers of trustees of institutions 


2 Definitions. 


in the university. 


3 Corporate name and objects. 


1 Number and quorum. 


4 Regents. 


2 Executive committee. 


5 Officers. 


3 Meetings and seniority. 


6 Meetings and absences. 


4 Vacancies and elections. 


7 Quorum and executive committee. 


5 Property holding. 


8 Authority of regents to take testi- 


6 Control of property. 


mony. 


7 Officers and emnloyees. 


9 By-laws, ordinances, and rules. 


8 Removals and suspensions. 


10 Departments and their govern- 


9 Degrees and credPutiaJs. 


ment. 


10 Rules. 


11 General examinations, credentials, 


35 Public and free librari^ '^l'd mu- 


and degrees. 


seums. 


12 Academic examinations. 


36 Establishment. 


13 Admission and fees. 


37 Subsidies. 


14 Extension of educational facilities. 


38 Taxes. 


15 State library; how constituted. 


39 Trustees. 


16 Manuscripts and records "on file." 


40 Incorporation. 


17 Use. 


41 Reports. 


18 Book appropriations. 


42 Use. 


19 Duplicate department. 


43 Injuries of property. 


20 Transfers from State officers. 


44 Detention. 


21 Other libraries owned by the State. 


45 Transfer of libraries. 


22 State museum; how constituted. 


46 Local neglect. 


23 Collections made by the staff. 


47 Loans of books from the State. 


24 Institutions in the university. 


48 Advice and instruction from State 


25 Visitation and reports. 


library officers. 


26 Apportionment of State money. 


49 Use of fees and fines. 


27 Charters. 


50 Apportionment of public libra*" ' 


28 Provisional charters. 


money. 


29 Change of name or charter. 


51 Abolition. 


30 Dissolution and rechartering. 


52 Laws repealed. 


31 Suspension of operations. 


53 Saving clause. 


32 Conditions of incorporation. 


54 Construction. 


33 Prohibitions. 
3176- 8 


55 To take effect. 



114 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDFCATIOlSr IW NEW YOEK.. 

§ 1. Short title: This chapter shall be known as the university law. 
§ 2. Definitions: As nsed in this chapter — 

1. Academies are incorporated schools for Instruction in higher branches of 
education, but not authorized to confer degrees, and such high schools, academic 
departments in union schools, and similar unincorporated schools as are admitted 
by the regents to the university as of academic grade. 

2. The term college includes universities and other institutions for higher edu- 
cation authorized to confer degrees. 

3. University means University of the State of New York. 

4. Regents means board of regents of the University of the State of New York. 

5. State superintendent means State superintendent of public instruction. 

' 6. Higher education means education in advance of common elementary 
branches, and includes the work of academies, colleges, universities, professional 
and technical schools, and educational work connected with libraries, museums, 
university extension courses, and similar agencies. 

7. The term trustees includes directors, managers, or other similar members of 
the governing board of an educational institution. 

§ 3. Corporate name and objects: The corporation created in 1784 under the 
name of Regents of the University of the State of New York shall continue and 
be known as the University of the State of New York. Its objects shall be to 
encourage and promote higher education, to visit and inspect its several institu- 
tions and departments, to distribute to or expend or administer for them such 
propertj^ and funds as the State may appropriate therefor or as the university 
may own or hold in trust or otherwise, and to perform such other duties as may 
be intrusted to it. 

(See also constitution, art. 9, § 2.) 

§ 4. Regents: The university shall be governed and all its corporate powers 
exercised by 19 elective regents, and by the governor, lieutenant-governor, secre- 
retary of state, and superintendent of public instruction, who shall be ex officio 
regents. In case of the death, resignation, refusal to act, or removal from the 
State of any elective regent, his successor shall be chosen by the legislature in 
the manner provided by law for the election of Senators in Congress, except that 
the election maj take place at such time during the session of the legislature as it 
may determine. No person shall be at the same time an elective regent of the 
university and a trustee, president, principal, or any other officer of any institu- 
tion belonging to the university. 

(Must be at least nine regents. See constitution, art. 9, § 2.) 

§ 5. Officers: The elective officers of the university shall be a chancellor and a 
vice-chancellor who shall serve without salary, a secretary, and such other officers 
as are deemed necessary by the regents, all of whom shall be chosen by ballot by 
the regents and shall hold office during their pleasure; but no election, removal, 
or change of salary of an elective officer shall be made by less than 10 votes in 
favor thereof. Each regent and each elective officer shall, before entering on his 
duties, take and file with the secretary of state the oath of office required of State 
officers. 

The chancellor shall preside at all convocations and at all meetings of the 
regents, confer all degrees which they shall authorize, and fix the time and place 
of all special meetings. In his absence or inability to act the vice-chancellor, or 
if he be also absent, the senior regent present shall perform all the duties and have 
all the powers of the chancellor. 

(See also by-laws 8, p. 482, for power to appoint committees, delegates, etc.) 

The secretary shall be responsible for the safe-keeping and proper use of the 
university seal and of the books, records, and other property in charge of the 
regents, and for the proper administration and discipline of its various offices and 



A CENTURY OF UNIVEESITY WORK. 115 

departments, and shall give an nndertaking, to be approved by and filed with the 
State comptroller, in the stim of $10,000 for the faithful discharge of his duties. 
He may appoint, subject to the confirmation of the chancellor, a deputy to exercise 
temporarily any specified powers of the secretary in his absence. 

(Form, time and place of filing, and effect of failure to file official path, see pub- 
lic officers' law, 1892, §§ 10, 13, 15, 20. 

See also by-law 9, p. 483, for duties as executive officer.) 

§ 6. Meetings and absences: In addition to the annual meetings for which the 
time and place shall be fixed by ordinance of the regents, the chancellor shall call 
a meeting as often as the business of the university shall require, or on written 
request of any five regents; and at least 10 days' notice of every meeting shall be 
mailed to the usual address of each regent. If any regent shall fail to attend 
three consecutive' meetings, without written excuse accepted as satisfactory by 
the regents not later than the third consecutive meeting from which he has been 
absent, he shall be deemed to have resigned, and the regents shall promptly rejjort 
the vacancy to the legislature, which shall fill it as provided in § 4. 

(Ordinance 69, p. 481, fixes the annual meeting on the third Thursday of 
December.) 

§ 7. Quorum and executive committee: Ten regents attending shall be a quorum 
for the transaction of business, but the regents may elect an executive committee 
of not less than seven, which in the intervals between their meetings may transact 
such business of the regents as they may authorize, except to grant, alter, suspend, 
or revoke charters, or to grant honorary degrees. 

(See also by-law 3, p. 482, for powers of executive committee.) 

§ 8. Authority of regents to take testimony: The regents, or any committee 
thereof, may take testimony or hear proofs in any manner relating to their official 
duties, or in any matter which they may lawfully investigate. 

(Code of civil procedure, §§ 843, 854-59, in connection with this section, author- 
izes regents or any committee thereof to issue subpenas, administer oaths, and 
compel attendance of witnesses. ) 

§ 9. By-laws, ordinances, and rules: The regents may, as they deem advisable in 
conformity to law, make, alter, suspend, or repeal any by-laws, ordinances, rules, 
and resolutions for the accomplishment of the trusts reposed in them, but no such 
by-law, ordinance, or rule shall modify in any degree the freedom of the govern- 
ing body of any seminary for the training of priests or clergymen to determine 
and regulate the entire course of religious, doctrinal, or theological instruction to 
be given in such institution. No by-law, ordinance, or rule by which more than 
a majority vote shall be required for any specified action by the regents shall be 
amended, suspended, or repealed by a smaller vote than that required for action 
thereunder. [As amended by laws of 1895, ch. 577.] 

(See also by-law 29, p. 487, for method of amending or repealing.) 

§ 10. Departments and their government: The State library and State museum 
shall be departments of the university, and the regents may establish such other 
departments as they deem necessary to discharge the duties imposed on them by 
law. All tmiversity departments shall be under exclusive control of the regents, 
who shall have all powers of trustees thereof, inchiding authority to appoint all 
needed officers and employees; to fix their titles, duties, salaries, and terms of 
service; to make all needed regulations, and to buy, sell, exchange, or receive by 
will, gift, or on deposit articles or collections properly pertaining thereto; to main- 
tain lectures connected with higher education in this State, and to lend to or 
deposit permanently with other institutions books, specimens, or other articles in 
their custody which because of being duplicates or for other reasons will in the 
judgment of the regents be more useful in said institutions than if retained in the 
original collections at Albany. 



116 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

(For administration of State museum, see § 22, p. 409, This section supersedes 
the clause of laws of 1873, ch. 643, which placed hall of museum in joint charge of 
regents and State agricultural society. 

See also by-law 2, p. 481, on departments and committees.) 
§11. General examinations, credentials, and degrees: The regents may confer' 
by diploma under their seal such honorary degrees as they may deem proper, and 
may establish examinations as to attainments in learning, and may award and 
confer suitable certificates, diplomas, and degrees on persons who satisfactorily 
meet the requirements prescribed. 

(See also by-laws 36-28, pp. 486-87; ordinances 46-66, pp. 476-80.) 
§12, Academic examinations: The regents shall establish in the academies of 
the university examinations in studies furnishing a suitable standard of gradua- 
tion from academies and of admission to colleges, and certificates or diplomas 
shall be conferred by the regents on students who satisfactorily pass such exami- 
nations. 

§ 13, Admission and fees: Any person shall be admitted to these examinations 
wiio shall conform to the rules and pay the fees prescribed by the regents, and 
said fees shall not exceed one dollar for each academic branch, or five dollars for 
each higher branch in which the candidate is examined; and all fees received may 
be used by the regents for expenses of examinations. 

(See also ordinance 49, p. 476, for rules about admission.) 

§ 14. Extension of educational facilities: The regents may cooperate with other 
agencies in bringing within the reach of the people at large increased educational 
opportunities and facilities by stimulating interest, recommending methods, des- 
ignating suitable teachers and lecturers, lending necessary books and apparatus, 
conducting examinations, and granting credentials and otherwise aiding such 
work. No money appropriated by the State for this work shall be expended in 
paying for services or expenses of teachers or lecturers. 

§ 15, State library, how constituted: All books, pamphlets, manuscripts, records, 
archives, and maps, and all other property appropriate to a general library, if 
owned by the State and not placed in other custody by law, shall be in charge of 
the regents and constitute the State library. 

§ 16. Manuscripts and records ' on file ' : Manuscript or printed papers of the 
legislature, usually termed 'on file.' and which shall have been on file more than 
five years in custody of the senate and assembly clerks, and all public records of 
the State not placed in other custody by a specific law, shall be part of the State 
library, and shall be kept in rooms assigned and suitably arranged for that pur- 
pose by the trustees of the capitol. The regents shall cause such papers and 
records to be so classified and arranged that they can be easily found. No paper 
or record shall be removed from such files except on a resolution of the senate and 
assembly withdrawing them for a temporary purpose, and, in case of such removal, 
a description of the paper or record and the name of the person removing the same 
shall be entered in a book provided for that purpose, with the date of its delivery 
and return. 

§ 17, Use: The State library shall be kept open not less than eight hours every 
week day in the year, and members of the legislature, judges of the court of 
appeals, justices of the supreme court, and heads of State departments may bor- 
row from the library books for use in Albany, but shall be subject to such restric- 
tions and penalties as may be prescribed by the regents for the safety or greater 
usefulness of the library. Others shall be entitled to use or borrow books from 
the library only on such conditions as the regents shall prescribe. 

(Laws of 1891, ch. 377, § 1, makes the first appropriation for the State medical 
library and § 2 embodies the conditions of the gift by the Albany Medical College 
of its library, as follows: 



A CENTUKY OF UNIVEESITY WOKK. 117 

§ 3. The said medical library shall be a part of the New York State library 
under the same government and regulations, and shall be open for consultation to 
every citizen of the State at all hours when the State law library is open, and shall 
be available for borrowing books to every accredited physician residing in the 
State of New York who shall conform to the riiles made by the regents for insur- 
ing proper protection and the largest usefulness to the people of the said medical 
library. ) 

§ 18. Book appropriation: The treasurer shall pay annually to the regents, on 
warrant of the comptroller, $15,000 for books, serials, and binding for the State 
library. 

§ 19. Duplicate department: The regents shall have charge of the preparation, 
publication, and distribution, Avhether by sale, exchange, or gift, of the colonial 
history, natural history, and all other State publications not otherwise assigned 
by law. To guard against waste or destruction of State publications, and to pro- 
vide for completion of sets to be permanently preserved in American and foreign 
libraries, the regents shall maintain a duplicate department to which each State 
department, bureau, board, or commission shall send not less than five copies of 
each of its publications when issued, and. after completing its distribution, any 
remaining copies which it no longer requires. The above, with any other publi- 
cations not needed in the State library, shall be the duplicate department, and 
rules for sale, exchange, or distribution from it shall be fixed by the regents, who 
shall use all receipts from such exchanges or sales for exj)enses and for increas- 
ing the State library. The State printer shall furnish to this duplicate department, 
immediately after its printing, as many copies of each publication printed at State 
expense as the regents shall certify to be necessary to enable them to supply one 
copy to each library which shall conform to the rules established by the regents 
as to preservation and making available for public reference, and shall be regis- 
tered by the regents as properly entitled to such publication. In case the officer 
to whom the edition of any publication is to be delivered shall notify the State 
printers in writing, and before printing, that the edition provided will be insuffi- 
cient for his use if the library copies are deducted, there shall be printed as many 
extra copies as he shall require not exceeding the number delivered for library 
use. (As amended by laws of 1895, ch. 859, § 1.) 

(Legislative law, 1892, § 46-47, provides 230 copies of journals and documents 
for incorporated colleges and universities in New York and for literary and scien- 
tific exchanges made by the regents, and two copies of journals, documents, and 
bills for State library. 

See also by-law 16, p. 485.) 

§ 20. Transfers from State officers: The librarian of any library owned by the 
State, or the officer in charge of any State department, bureau, board, commission, 
or other office, may, with the approval of the regents, transfer to the permanent 
custody of the State library or museum any books, papers, maps, manuscripts, 
specimens, or other articles which, because of being duplicates or for other reasons, 
will, in his judgment, be more useful to the State in the State library or museum 
than if retained in his keeping. 

§ 21. Other libraries owned by the State: The report of the State library to the 
legislature shall include a statement of the total number of volumes or pamphlets, 
the number added during the year, with a summary of operations and conditions, 
and any needed recommendation for safety or usefulness for each of the other libra- 
ries owned by the State, the custodian of which shall furnish such information or 
facilities for inspection as the regents may require for making this report. Each 
of these libraries shall be under the sole control now provided by law, but for the 
annual report of the total number of books owned by or bought each year by the 
State, it shall be considered as a branch of the State library and shall be entitled 



118 HISTOKY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

to any facilities for exchange of duplicates, interlibrary loans, or other privileges 
properly accorded to a branch. 

(For report of State library, see g 25.) 

§ 22. State museum, how constituted: All scientific specimens and collections, 
works of art, objects of historic 'interest, and similar property appropriate to a 
general museum, if owned by the State and not placed in other custody by a spe- 
cific law, shall constitute the State museum, and one of its officers shall annually 
inspect all such property not kept in the State museum rooms, and the annual 
report of the museum to the legislature shall include summaries of such property, 
with its location, and any needed recommendations as to its safety or usefulness. 
Unless otherwise provided by law, the State museum shall include the work of 
the State geologist and paleontologist, the State botanist, and the State entomolo- 
gist, who, with their assistants, shall be included in the scientific staff of the State 
museum. (As amended by laws of 1896, ch. 493, § 1; § 2 is not general, but refers 
solely to present State geologist.) 

(For general control of museum see § 10 and note. Location of museum, scientific 
staff, etc., L. 1883, ch. 355; L. 1845, ch. 179, § 2, reads: 

§ 2. The executive committee of the New York State Agricultural Society may 
have the free use of said cabinets of natural history and all the specimens therein 
deposited, at any and all times, for such purpose as such committee shall desire, 
subject to the direction and regulations of the regents of the university: Provided, 
That such committee shall not remove said cabinets or any of the specimens therein 
deposited from the rooms in which they shall be deposited by the regents of the 
university. 

See also by-laws 19-20, pp. 485-86, museum exchanges and duplicate specimens.) 

§ 23. Collections made by the staff: Any scientific collection made by a member 
of the museum staff during his term of office shall, unless otherwise authorized by 
resolution of the regents, belong to the State and form part of the State museum. 

§ 24. Institutions in the university: The institutions of the tmiversity shall 
include all institutions of higher education which are now or may hereafter be 
incorporated in this State, and such other libraries, museums, or other institutions 
for higher education as may, in conformity with the ordinances of the regents, 
after official inspection, be admitted to or incorporated by the university. The 
regents may exclude from such membership any institution failing to comply with 
law or with any ordinance or rule of the university. 

(See also Consolidated School Laio, 1894, tit. 8, § 26, p. 425, on academic depart- 
ments of union schools; tit. 13, § 7, on libraries, p. 435; and ordinances 1-3, pp. 
465-66, on incorporation and admission; 8-9, pp. 467-68, on limited charters and stock 
or business corporations; 13-14, pp. 468-69, on academies and grading; 22, p. 471, 
on delinquent and dormant institutions; 23, p. 471, on special requirements in 
English. ) 

§ 25. Visitation and reports: The regents or their committees or officers shall 
visit, examine into, and inspect the condition and operations of every institution 
and department in the university, and require of each an annual report verified by 
oath of its presiding officer, and giving information concerning trustees, faculty, 
students, instruction, equipment, methods, and operations, with such other infor- 
mation and in such form as may be prescribed by the regents, who shall annually 
report to the legislature the condition of the university and of each of its institutions 
and departments, with any further information or recommendations which they 
shall deem it desirable to submit; and such parts of their report as they shall deem 
necessary for use in advance of the annual volume may be printed by the State 
printer as bulletins. For refusal or continued neglect on the part of any institu- 
tion in the university to make the report required by this section, or for violation 
of any law, the regents may suspend the charter or any of the rights and privileges 
of such institution. 



A CENTURY OF UNIVEESITY WORK. 119 

(Academic departments of union free schools are subject to the visitation and 
control of regents as to their educational work, Consolidated School Law, 1894, 
tit. 8, § 26-27, pp. 425-26. This section supersedes provision as to visitation in L. 
1882. ch. 367, g 27. 

See also g 41, p. 417, and ordinances 19-22, pp. 470-71, on reports; by-law 25, p. 
486, requiring annual inspection.) 

§ 26. Apportionment of State money: The treasurer shall pay annually, on war- 
rant of the comptroller, $12,000 from the income of the literature fund, $34,000 
from the income of the United States deposit fund, and $60,000 from the general 
fund, according to an apportionment to be made for the benefit of the academies 
of the university by the regents, in accordance with their rules and authenticated 
by their seal, provided that the said $60,000 from the general fund shall be used 
only for academic departments of union schools, and that no academy shall share 
in such apportionment unless the regents shall be satisfied by personal inspection 
by one of their officers, the necessary expenses of which inspection may be paid out 
of said money, that it has suitable provision for buildings, furniture, apparatus, 
library, and collections, and has complied with all their requirements, and pro- 
vided that books, apparatus, scientific collections, or other educational equipment 
furnished by the State or bought with money appoi'tioned from State funds shall 
be subject to return to the regents whenever the charter of the school shall be 
revoked or it shall discontinue its educational operations. 

(Capital of literature and United States deposit funds must be kept inviolate; 
revenue of the literature fund must be applied to support of academies; no State 
funds to be paid to any institution of learning " wholly or in part under the con- 
trol or direction of any religious denomination or in which any denominational 
tenet or doctrine is taught,' Constitution, art. 9, § 3-4, p. 401; L. 1873, ch. 642, §7. 
Literature fund, and how invested, R. S., pt. 1, ch. 9, tit. 3, § 1-2. L. 1895, ch. 
341, provides for an additional $100 to each school of academic grade and for 
increasing the fund each year to keep pace with growth in number of schools and 
students. This now requires over $250,000 annually. Establishment and regula- 
tion of academic departments of union schools. Consolidated school laic, 1894, ch. 
556, tit. 8, g 15, subg 10; tit. 8, §§ 26-27, 35, pp. 425-427. Other details as to such 
expenditures, laws of 1873, ch, 642. 

See also laws of 1895, ch. 341, § 2, p. 427, and ordinances 30-41, pp. 472-475, regu- 
lating grants of money by regents.) 

§ 27. Charters: The regents may, by an instrument under their seal and recorded 
in their office, incorporate any university, college, academy, library, museum, or 
other institution or association for the promotion of science, literature, art, history, 
or other department of knowledge, under such name, with such number of trus- 
tees or other managers, and with such powers, privileges, and duties, and subject 
to such limitations and restrictions in all respects as the regents may prescribe in 
conformity to law. (As amended by laws of 1895, ch. 859, § 2.) 

(See also Constitution, art. 8, § 1, p. 421; ilenibership corj^orations law, 1895, ch. 
559, § 30, p. 421, which repeals all powers to incorporate scientific, literary, and 
similar institutions or associations except by the regents under this section ; and 
ordinances 1-2, p. 465, on charters; 8, p. 467; 10, p. 468; 24, p. 471, withholding 
charters after vote; 55, p. 478, limitation on granting degrees. 

An academy incorporated for the promotion of literature and authorized to edu- 
cate males and females, may establish separate departments for each, and, under 
laws of 1840, ch. 318, and laws of 1841, ch. 261, take and hold real estate in trust, 
to be used for the benefit of either department. Adams v. Perry, N. Y. 43: 487.) 

§ 28. Provisional charters: On evidence satisfactory to the regents that the con- 
ditions for an absolute charter will be met within a prescribed time, they may 
grant a provisional charter which shall be replaced by an absolute charter when 
the conditions have been fully met; otherwise, after the specified time, on notice 



120 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

from the regents to this effect, the provisional charter shall terminate and become 
void and shall be surrendered to the regents. No such provisional charter shall ' 
give power to confer degrees. 

(Ordinance 32, p. 473, forbids grants from academic fund.) 

§ 29. Change of name of charter: The regents may, at any time, for sufficient 
cause, by an instrument under their seal and recordea in their office, change the 
name, or alter, suspend, or revoke the charter or incorporation of any institution 
which they might incorporate under >^ 27, if subject to their visitation or chartered 
or incorporated by the regents or under a general law; provided, that, unless on 
imanimous request of the trustees of the institution, no name shall be changed 
and no charter shall be altered, nor shall any rights or privileges thereunder be 
suspended or repealed by the regents till they have mailed to the usual address of 
every trustee of the institution concerned at least 30 days' notice of a hearing, when 
any objections to the proposed change will be considered, and till ordered by vote at 
a meeting of the regents for which the notices have specified that action is to be 
taken on the proposed change. (As amended by laws of 1895, ch. 859, § 3.) 

(For change of name by court see Code of Civil Procedure, §§ 2411-2418.) 

§ 30. Dissolution and rechartering: Under like restrictions the regents may dis- 
solve any such educational corporation, whether with or without a capital stock, 
and whether incorporated by the regents or under a general or by a special law, 
and make such disposition of the property of such corporation remaining after 
payment of its debts and liabilities as the regents Shall deem just and equitable 
and best promoting piiblic interests. The regents may also, after a similar hear- 
ing, issue to any such educational corporation a new charter which shall take the 
place in all respects of that under which it has been operating. 

(Procedure for dissolution of incorporated academies having capital stock, L. 
1889, ch. 25, pp. 423-425. Certain educational corporations excepted from code 
provisions for dissolution, Code of Civil Procedure, g§ 1804, 2431.) 

§ 31. Suspension of operations: If any institution in the university shall discon- 
tinue its educational operations without cause satisfactory to the regents, it shall 
surrender its charter to them, subject, however, to restoration whenever arrange- 
ments satisfactory to the regents are made for resuming its work. 

(See also ordinances 11, p. 468, on suspension because of leasing without written 
approval of regents; 19, p. 470, on reports; 22, p. 471, on delinquents.) 

§ 32. Conditions of incorporation: No institution shall be given power to confer 
degrees in this State unless it shall have resources of at least $500,000; and no 
institution for higher education shall be incorporated without suitable provision, 
approved by the regents, for buildings, furniture, educational equipment, and 
proper maintenance. No institution shall institute or have any faculty or depart- 
ment of higher education in any place or be given power to confer any degree not 
specifically authorized by its charter; and no institution of higher education shall 
be incorporated under the provisions of any general act authorizing the forma- 
tion of a corporation without grant of a special charter on individual application, 
and no corporation shall, under authority of any general act, extend its business 
to include establishing or carrying on any such institutions. 

(See also ordinances 2, p. 465, on incorporation; 55, p. 478, limiting degree-con- 
ferring powers. ) 

§ 33. Prohibitions: No individual, association, or corporation not holding univer- 
sity or college degree- conferring powers by special charter from the legislature of 
this State or from the regents, shall confer any degrees, nor after Janviary 1, 1893, 
shall transact business under, or in any way assume the name university or college, 
till it shall have received from the regents, under their seal, written permission to 
use such name, and no such permission shall be granted by the regents, except on 
favorable report after personal inspection of the institution by an officer of the 
university. No person shall buy, sell, or fraudulently or illegally make or alter. 



A CENTUEY OF UNIVERSITY WORK. 121 

give, issue, or obtain any diploma, certificate, or other instrument purporting to 
confer any literary, scientific, professional, or other degree, or to constitute any 
license, or to certify to the completion in whole or in part of any course of stiidy 
in any university, college, academy, or other educational institution. No diploma 
or degree shall be conferred in this State except by a regularly organized institu- 
tion of learning registered by the regents as not violating any requirement of law 
or of the university ordinances, nor shall any person with intent to deceive, falsely 
represent himself to have received any such degree or credential, nor shall any 
person append to his name any letters in the same form registered by the regents 
as entitled to the protection accorded to university degrees, unless he shall have 
received from a duly authorized institution the degree for which the letters are 
registered. Counterfeiting, or falsely or without authority making or altering in 
a material respect, any such credential issued under seal shall be a felony, and 
personating another by attempting to take an examination in his name or procur- 
ing any person thus falsely to personate another, or otherwise attempting to secure 
the record of having passed such examination in violation of the university ordi- 
nances, or any other violation of this section shall be~a misdemeanor; and any 
person who aids or abets another, or advertises or offers himself to violate the 
provisions of this section, shall be liable to the same penalties. (As amended by 
laws of 1895, ch. 859, §4.) 

(See also ordinances 5-6, pp. 466-467, defining the word "college ; " 21, p. 471, on 
violations of the university law; 52, p. 477, all credentials subject to cancellation 
for cause; 58, p. 478, for list of degrees protected by this section.) 

§ 34. Powers of trustees of institutions in the university: The trustees of every 
corporation created for educational purposes and subject to visitation by the 
regents, unless otherwise provided by law or by its charter, may — 

1. Number and quorum: Fix the number of trustees which shall not exceed 25," 
nor be less than five. If any institution has more than five trustees, the body that 
elects, by a two-thirds vote after notice of the proposed action in the call for a 
meeting, may reduce the number to not less than five by abolishing the office of 
any trustee which is vacant and filing in the regents' office a certified copy of the 
action. A majority of the whole number shall be a quorum. 

2. Executive committee: Elect an executive committee of not less than seven, 
who, in intervals between meetings of the trustees, may transact such business of 
the corporation as the trustees may authorize, except to grant degrees or to make 
removals from office. 

3. Meetings and seniority: Meet on their own adjournment or when required by 
their by-laws, and as often as they shall be summoned by their chairman, or in his 
absence by the senior trustee, on written request of three trustees. Seniority shall 
be according to the order in which the trustees are named in the charter or subse- 
quently elected. Notice of the time and place of every meeting shall be mailed 
not less than five nor more than 10 days before the meeting to the usual address 
of every trustee. 

4. Vacancies and elections: Fill any vacancy occurring in the office of any 
trustee by electing another for the unexpired term. The office of any trustee shall 
become vacant on his death, resignation, refusal to act, removal from office, expira- 
tion of his term, or any other cause specified in the charter. If any trustee shall 
fail to attend three consecutive meetings without written excuse accepted as satis- 
factory by the trustees not later than the third consecutive meeting from which 
he has been absent, he shall be deemed to have resigned, and the vacancy shall be 
filled. Any vacancy in the office of trustee continuing for more than one year, or 
any vacancy reducing the number of trustees to less than two-thirds of the full 
number may be filled by the regents. No person shall be ineligible as a trustee 
by reason of sex. 



122 HISTOEY OP HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

(Salaried officers, otlier than executive or flBancial, ineligible as trustees, see 
ordinance 16, p. 470. ) 

5. Property holding: Take and hold by gift, grant, devise, or bequest in their 
own right or in trust for any purpose comprised in the objects of the corporation, 
such additional real and personal property beyond such as shall be authorized by 
their^charter or by special or general statue, as the regents shall authorize within 
one year after the delivery of the instrument or probate of the will, giving, grant- 
ing, devising, or bequeathing such property and such authority given by the 
regents shall make any such gift, grant, devise, or bequest operative cind valid in 
law. 

(Enlargement of limitations upon amount of property that membership educa- 
tional corporations may hold, general corporation law, 1892, § 12, p. 422; laws of 
1889, ch. 191. As to property holding generally, see general corporation law, 1892, 
§10-14.) 

6. Control of property: Buy, sell, mortgage, let, and otherwise use and dispose of 
its property as they shall deem for the best interests of the institution ; and also to 
lend or deposit, or to receive as a gift, or on loan or deposit, literary, scientific, or 
other articles, collections, or property pertaining to their work; and such gifts, 
loans, or deposits may be made to or with the university or any of its institutions 
by any person, or by legal vote of any board of trustees, corporation, association, 
or school district, and any such transfer of property, if approved by the regents, 
shall, during its continuance, transfer responsibility therefor to the institution 
receiving it, which shall also be entitled to receive any money, books, or other 
property from the State or other sources to which said corporation, association, 
or district would have been entitled but for such transfer. 

(Incorporated college raay maintain waterworks system, L. 1895, ch. 630.) 

7. Officers and emj)loyees: Appoint and fix the salaries of such officers and em- 
ployees as they shall deem necessary, who, unless employed under special contract, 
shall hold their offices during the pleasure of the trustees; but no trustee shall 
receive compensation as such. 

(See also ordinances 16-18.) 

8. Removals and suspensions: Remove or suspend from office by vote of a 
majority of the entire board any trustee, officer, or employee engaged under 
special contract, on examination and due proof of the truth of a written com- 
plaint by any trustee, of misconduct, incapacity, or neglect of duty; provided 
that at least one week's previous notice of the proposed action shall have been 
given to the accused and to each trustee. 

9. Degrees and credentials: Grant such degrees and honors as are specifically 
authorized by their charter, and in testimony thereof give suitable certificates 
and diplomas under their seal ; and every certificate and diploma so granted shall 
entitle the conferee to all privileges and immunities, which by usage or statute 
are allowed for similar diplomas of corresponding grade granted by any institu- 
tion of learning. 

(See also ordinances 54-58, 60, 61, 63.) 

10. Rules: Make all by-laws, ordinances, and rules necessary and proper for the 
purpose of the institution and not inconsistent with law or any ordinance or rule 
of the univei'sity; but no ordinance or rule by which more than a majority vote 
shall be required for any specified action by the trustees shall be amended, sus- 
pended, or repealed by a smaller vote than that required for action thereunder. 

(Power to make by-laws, general corporation law, 1892, § 11, 29.) 
§ 35. Public and free libraries and museums: All provisions of sections 35 to 51 
shall apply equally to libraries, museums, and to combined libraries and museums, 
and the word library shall be construed to include reference and circulating 
libraries and reading rooms. 

(See also general municipal law, 1892, § 24, as amended by laws of 1896, ch. 576. 



A CENTUEY OF UNIVEESITY WOEK!. 123 

f^ 36. Establishment: By majorit}' vote at any election any city, village, town, 
school district, or other body authorized to levy and collect taxes, or by vote of its 
common council, or by action of a board of estimate and apportionment, or other 
proper authority, any city, or by vote of its trustees, any village, may establish 
and maintain a free public library, with or without branches, either by itself or 
in connection with any other body authorized to maintain such library. When- 
ever 25 taxpayers shall so petition the question of providing library facilities 
shall be voted on at the next election or meeting at which taxes may be voted, 
provided that due public notice shall have been given of the proposed action. 
(As amended by laws of 1895, ch. 859, § 5.) 

(Establishment of free public library by town, city, or village, 'general munici- 
pal law, § 24. ) 

§ 37. Subsidies: By similar vote money may be granted toward the support of 
libraries not owned by the public but maintained for its welfare and free use; 
provided that such libraries shall be subject to the inspection of the regents and 
registered by them as maintaining a proper standard, that the regents shall cer- 
tify what number of the books circulated are of such a character as to merit a 
grant of public money, and that the amount granted yearly to libraries on the 
basis of circulation shall not exceed 10 cents for each volume of the circulation 
thus certified by the regents. 

(Laws of 1886, ch. 666, and laws 1887, ch. 313, authorizing local subsidies to 
libraries, were repealed by the membership corporation law, 1895, ch. 559. This 
section now contains the only provision of law for subsidies to libraries. 

See also ordinance 67.) 

g 38. Taxes: Taxes in addition to those otherwise authorized may be voted by 
any authority named in § 36 and for any purpose specified in sections 36 and 37, 
and shall, unless otherwise directed by such vote, be considered as annual appro- 
priations therefor till changed by further vote, and shall be levied and collected 
yearly, or as directed, as are other general taxes; and all money received from 
taxes or other sources for such library shall be kept as a separate library fund and 
expended only under direction of the library trustees on properly authenticated 
vouchers. 

§ 39. Trustees: Such libraries shall be managed by trustees who shall have all the 
powers of trustees of other educational institutions of the university as defined in 
this act; provided, unless otherwise specified in the charter, that the number of 
trustees shall be five; that they shall be elected by the legal voters, except that in 
cities they shall be appointed by the mayor, with the consent of the common coun- 
cil, from citizens of recognized fitness for such position; that the first trustees 
determine by lot whose term of office shall expire each year, and that a new trustee 
shall be elected or appointed annually to serve for five years. 

§ 40. Incorporation: Within one month after taking office, the first board of trus- 
tees shall apply to the regents for a charter in accordance with, the vote establish- 
ing the library. 

(See also ordinance 7, for property minimum. ) 

§ 41. Reports: Every library or museum which receives State aid or enjoys any 
exemption from taxation or other privilege not usually accorded to business cor- 
porations shall make the report required by § 25 of this act, and such report shall 
relieve the institution from making any report now required by statute or charter 
to be made to the legislature, or to any department, court, or other authority of 
the State. These reports shall be summarized and transmitted to the legislature 
by the regents with the annual reports of the State library and State museum. 

(See also ordinance 19.) 

§ 42. Use: Every library established under § 36 of this act shall be forever free to 
the inhabitants of the locality which establishes it, subject always to rules of the 



124 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

library trustees, who shall have authority to exclude any person who wilfully vio- 
lates such rules; and the trustees may, under such conditions as they think expe- 
dient, extend the privileges of the library to persons living outside such locality. * 
(As amended by laws of 1895, ch. 859, § 6.) 

§ 43. Injuries to property: Whoever intentionally injures, defaces, or destroys 
any property belonging to or deposited in any incorporated library, reading room, 
museum, or other educational institution, shall be punished by imprisonment in a 
State prison for not more than three years, or in a county jail for not more than one 
year, or by a fine of not more than $500, or by both such fine and imprisonment. 

(To like effect, Penal Code, pp. 647-648.) 

§ 44. Detention: Whoever wilfully detains any book, newspaper, magazine, 
pamphlet, manuscript, or other property belonging to any public or incorporated 
library, reading room, museum, or other educational institution, for 30 days after 
notice in writing to return the same, given after the expiration of the time which 
by the rules of such institution such article or other property may be kept, shall 
be punished by a fine of not less than one nor more than $25, or by imprisonment 
in the jail not exceeding six months, and the said notice shall bear on its face a 
copy of this section. 

§ 45. Transfer of libraries: Any corporation, association, school district or com- 
bination of districts may, by legal vote duly approved by the regents, transfer the 
ownership and control of its library, with all its appurtenances, to any public 
library in the university, and thereafter said public library shall be entitled to 
receive any money, books, or other property from the State or other sources to 
which said corporation, association, or district would have been entitled but for 
such transfer, and the trustees or body making the transfer shall thereafter be 
relieved of all responsibility pertaining to property thus transferred. 

(See also ordinance 68.) 

g 46. Local neglect: If the local authorities of any library supported wholly or 
in part by State money, fail to provide for the safety and public usefulness of its 
books, the regents shall in writing notify the trustees of said library what is neces- 
sary to meet the State's requirements, and on such notice all its rights to further 
grants of money or books from the State shall be suspended until the regents certify 
that the requirements have been met; and if said trustees shall refuse or neglect 
to comply with such requirements within 60 days after service of such notice, the 
regents may remove them from office, and thereafter all books and other library 
property wholly or in part paid for from State money shall be under the full and 
direct control of the regents who, as shall seem best for public interests, may 
appoint new trustees to carry on the library, or may store it or distribute its books 
to other libraries. 

§ 47. Loans of books from State: Under such rules as the regents may prescribe, 
they may lend from the State library, duplicate department, or from books speci- 
ally given or bought for this purpose, selections of books for a limited time to any 
public library in this State under visitation of the regents, or to any community 
not yet having established such library, but which has conformed to the condi- 
tions required for such loans. 

§ 48. Advice and instruction from State library officers: The trustees or libra- 
rian or any citizen interested in any public library in this State shall be entitled 
to ask from the officers of the State library any needed advice or instruction as to 
library building, furniture and equipment, government and service, rules for 
readers, selecting, buying, cataloguing, shelving, lending books, or any other 
matter pertaining to the establishment, reorganization, or administration of a 
public library. The regents may provide for giving such advice and instruction 
either personally or through printed matter and correspondence, either by the 
State library staff or by a library commission of competent experts appointed by 
the regents to serve without salary. The regents may, on, request, select or buy 



A CENTUEY OF UNIVERSITY WORK. 125 

books, or furnish' instead of money apportioned, or may make exchanges or loans 
through the duplicate department of the State library. Such assistance shall be 
free to residents of this State as far as practicable, but the regents may, in their 
discretion, charge a proper fee to nonresidents or for assistance of a personal 
nature or for other reason not properly an expense to the State, but which raay be 
authorized for the accommodation of iisers of the library. 

g 49. Use of fees and fines: The regents may use receipts from fees, fines, gifts 
from private sources, or sale of regents' bulletins and similar printed matter, for 
buying books or for any other proper expenses of carrying on their work. 

(By-law 16 requires report to legislature of all receipts and payments.) 

§ 50. Apportionment of public library money: Such sum as shall have been 
appropriated by the legislature as public library money shall be paid annually by 
the treasurer, on the warrant of the comptroller, from the income of the United 
States deposit fund, according to an apportionment to be made for the benefit of 
free libraries by the regents in accordance with their rules and authenticated by 
their seal; provided that none of this money shall be spent for books except those 
approved or selected and furnished by the regents: that no locality shall share in 
the apportionment unless it shall raise and use for the same purpose not less than 
an equal amount from taxation or other local sources; that for any part of the 
apportionment not payable directly to the library trustees the regents shall file 
with the comptroller proper vouchers showing that it has been spent in accord- 
ance with law exclusively for books for free libraries or for proper expenses 
incurred for their benefit; and that books paid for by the State shall be subject to 
return to the regents whenever the library shall neglect or refuse to conform to 
the ordinances under which it secured them. 

(See also ordinances 37-45 for rules governing these grants.) 

§ 51. Abolition: Any library established by public vote or action of school 
authorities, or under § 36 of this act, may be abolished only by a majority vote at 
a regular annual election, ratified by a majority vote at the next annual election. 
If any such library is abolished its property shall be used first to return to the 
regents, for the benefit of other public libraries in that locality, the equivalent of 
such sums as it may have received from the State or from other sources as gifts 
for public use. After such return any remaining property may be used as directed 
in the vote abolishing the library, but if the entire library property does not exceed 
in value the amount of such gifts it may be transferred to the regents for public 
use, and the trustees shall thereupon be freed from further responsibility. No 
abolition of a public library shall be lawful till the regents grant a certificate that 
its assets have been properly distributed and its abolition completed in accordance 
with law. (As amended by laws of 1895, ch. 859, § 7.) 

§ 52. Laws repealed: Of the laws enumerated in the schedule hereto annexed 
that portion specified in the last column is repealed. 

§ 53. Saving clause: The repeal of a law or any part of it by this act shall not 
affect or impair any act done or right accruing, accrued or acquired, or liability, 
penalty, forfeiture, or punishment incurred prior to such repeal, under or by virtue 
of any law so repealed, but the same may be asserted, enforced, prosecuted, or 
inflicted as fully and to the same extent as if such law had not been repealed; and 
all actions and proceedings, civil or criminal, commenced under or by virtue of 
the laws so repealed and pending at the time of such repeal, may be prosecuted and 
defended to final effect in the same manner as they might under the laws then 
existing, unless it shall be otherwise specially provided by law. 

(Similar and other saving clauses, statutory construction: law, 1892, § 31-33.) 

§ 54. Construction: The provisions of this act, so far as they are substantially 
the same as those of the laws herein repealed, shall be construed as a continuation 

1 So in the original, 



126 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATIOlSr IN NEW YORK. 

of such la'vvs, modified or amended according to the language employed in this act, 
and not as ne'w enactments. Repeals in this act shall not revive any law repealed 
by any la-w hereby repealed, but shall include all laws amendatory of the laws^ 
hereby repealed. References in laws not repealed to provisions of law incorpor- 
ated in this chapter and repealed sha,ll be construed as applying to the provisions 
so incorporated. Nothing in this act shall be construed to repeal any provision of 
the criminal or penal code. 

§ 55. To take effect: This act shall take effect immediately. 

SCHEDULE OF LAWS REPEALED. 


Laws of — 


Chapter. 


Section. 


Laws of— 


Chapter. 


Section. - 


Rev. laws of 1813 


59 

5, tit. 3.. 
9, tit. 8.. 

15, tit. 1.. 

307 

276 

8 

140- 

34 

123_ 

142 

237 

226 

315 

245 

246 

381 

143 

149 

85 

254 

255 - 

179 

85 

132 

190- 

212.. 

262 

372 :.. 

175 

266 

360 

396 

536.. 

544 


All. 

5. 

6,7,8. 

All. 

All. 

All. 

3,4. 

2. 

3. 

3,3. 

1. 

8,9. 

All. 

1,3. 

1,2. 

All. 

3. 

All. 

1,3, 4, .5, 6. 

1,4. 

1,2,3. 

1,3,5,6,7. 

1,3. 

1,3. 

1,2,3,4,5. 

1. 

1,3. 

3,3. 

All. 

1,2, 3, 4, .5. 

All. 

1,2,3. 

All. 

],3. 

All. 


1853 

1853 


366 

184 

80 

91-. _ 

50 

410 

471 

168 

54 

355 

527 _. 

81.- 

395 

426 

518 

697 

179 

774 

60__ 

51 

557 

711.- 

746 

643- 

176 

373.- 

133 

163 _ 

389 

514 

120 -- 

679 

493 

652 

539 


1. 

All. 

1. 

1,2. 

All. 

1,2. 

1,2,3. 

1.2,3. 

All. 

1,2,3. 

All. 

1,2. 

1,2,3. 

1. 

1,3. 

All. 

1,2. 

All. . 

1,2. 

All. 

1,2,3,4,5. 




Rev. Stat., pt.l 


1854.. 

1855 


1815 . 


1855. 


1818 


1855 


1832 


1855 


1834 


18.56--.. 


1835 


1856- 

1857 , . 


1835 


1836 . . .. 


18.57 


1838 -- 


1858 -- 


1839 ---- 


1859. __ 

1859 

1860 .... 


1839 . .... 


1840 


1840 — 

1840 


1865 

1868 

1869 


1843 - 


1843 . . 


1870 


1843 


1870---- 


1844 - .--- 


1870--- 

1871 


1844 


1,3,3. 


1845 


1872- 


1,3,3,4,5. 


1845 


1873 


4. 


1846 


1875 - --- 


All. 


1847 


1875 - 


All. 


1847 


1876 


1,2. 


1848 - . . 


1877 


All. 


1848 - 


1879... 


All. i 

1. 

All. 

All. 

All. 


1849 


1880 -. .:.. 


1849 


1881 


1850 


1881.... _.. 

1886 

1887 


1851 


1851 


All. 


1851 


1889 


All. 









PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL TRAINING AND EXAMINATIONS. 
Practice of Law. 

[Lawsof 189.5, ch. 946.] 
§ 57. Rules, how changed: The rules established by the court of appeals, touch- 
ing the admission of attorneys and counselors to practice in the courts of record 
of the State, shall not be changed or amended, except by a majority of the judges 
of that court. A copy of each amendment to such rules must, within five days 
after it is adopted, be filed in the office of the secretary of state, who must trans- 
mit a printed copy thereof to the clerk of each county, and to the presiding justice 
of the appellate division of the supreme court, in each judicial department, and 
also cause the same to be published in the next ensuing volume of the session 
laws. 

LAW STUDENT EXAMINATIONS. 
[Rules 5 and 6 of the court of appeals, adopted October 22, 1894; to take effect January 1, 1895.] 

The university is responsible only for the preliminary general education of law 
students. The full rules for admission of attorneys to the bar may be obtained of 
the clerk of the court of appeals, capitol, Albany, N. Y. 

Rule 5, § 3. Applicants who are not graduates of a college or university or mem- 
bers of the bar as above described, shall, before entering upon the clerkship or 



II 



A CENTUEY OF UNIVEESITY WOKK. 127 

attendance at a law school herein prescribed, or within one year thereafter, have 
passed an examination conducted under the authority and in accordance with the 
ordinances and rules of the University of the State of New York, in English com- 
position, advanced English, first year Latin, arithmetic, algebra, geometry, United 
States and English history, civics and economics, or in their substantial equiva- 
lents as defined by the rules of the university, and shall have filed a certificate of 
such fact signed by the secretary of the university with the clerk of the court of 
appeals, whose duty it shall be to return to the person named therein a certified 
copy of the same showing the date of such filing. The regents may accept as the 
equivalent of and substitute for the examination in this rule prescribed either, 
first, a certificate properly authenticated, of having successfully completed a full 
year's course of study in any ' college or university; second, a certificate properly 
authenticated,- of having satisfactorily completed a three years' course of study 
in any institution registered ^ by the regents as maintaining a satisfactory aca- 
demic standard; or, third, a regents' diploma.^ The regents' certificate above 

' The regents count forty weeks as a full academic year. If the candidate has 
passed successfully in a registered institution all the examinations for a full year's 
work, the question of actual attendance is not raised. 

^ The court and the regents both refuse to recognize as a college or a university 
an institution which, though taking the name, in reality does work of a lower 
grade. Colleges of medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, business colleges, and all simi- 
lar professional and technical schools are not registered as colleges. Bj^ college is 
understood an institution which requires for admission four years of academic or 
high school preparation in addition to the preacademic or grammar school studies, 
and which gives four full years of college instruction as a condition of graduation. 
Institutions with courses equivalent to three j^ears of college work are sometimes 
registered when they require four full years of academic preparation, as are other 
institutions that admit after three years of preparation but that require a mini- 
mum of four years of college work. In all cases the total of academic and college 
work must be not less than seven years in advance of grammar school studies, or 
the institution can not be registered as giving a full college course. The court 
also refuses to recognize as "study in a college," work in an academic or lower 
department conducted and supervised by a college. To be accepted as an equiva- 
lent by the regents the work must be of college grade. 

^Besides the institutions of higher education in the State of New York 
inspected by the regents, institutions in other States and countries are registered 
on reliable information that the minimum standard is fully met. If credentials 
are offered from any institution not yet registered (or rejected as below the regis- 
tration standard) the necessary investigation will be made as promptly as pos- 
sible and the candidate notified whether the credentials can be accepted. The 
frequent changes in organization and standards, and the practical difficulties of 
recording the grade of work outside regularly organized institutions, have made 
necessary the rule that candidates instructed by private tutors or in unregistered 
private schools, however excellent, can not be excused from taking the examina- 
tions by presenting certificates similar to those accepted from regularly organized 
and registered institutions. 

*The term "regents' diploma" refers not alone to the classical, English, and 
academic diplomas which bear that specific name, but to all graduating creden- 
tials, whether called certificates or diplomas, which certify from the university to 
the completion of a full academic course. As some candidates prefer to pass 
examinations in the higher branches more recently studied rather than in more 
elementary subjects in which they have become rusty, they are allowed to select 
from the entire list of over 70 studies in which the regents examine, provided that 
the total academic counts equal a full course. 



i 



128 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

prescribed shall be deemed to take effect as of the date of the completion of the 
regents' examination, as the same shall appear upon said certificate. 

PRACTICE OF MEDICINE. 

[Public health law, 1893, ch. 661, art. 8, as amended to June, 1897.] 

Definitions as used in this article: 

University means University of the State of New York. 

Regents means board of regents of the University of the State of New York. 

Board means a board of medical examiners of the State of New York. 

Medical examiner means a member of the board of medical examiners of the 
State of New Y^'ork. 

Medical school means any medical school, college, or department of a university, 
registered by the regents as maintaining a proper medical standard and as legally 
incorporated. 

Medicine means medicine and surgery. 

Physician means physician and surgeon. 

§ 140. Qualifications: No person shall practice medicine after September 1, 1891, 
■unless previously registered and legally authorized or unless licensed by the 
regents and registered as required by this article; nor shall any person practice 
medicine who has ever been convicted of a felony by any court, or whose authority 
to practice is suspended or revoked by the regents on recommendation of a State 
board. 

§ 141. State boards of medical examiners: There shall continue to be three sepa- 
rate State boards of medical examiners of seven members each, each of whom shall 
hold ofiSce for three years from Aiigust 1 of the year in which appointed. One 
board shall represent the Medical Society of the State of New York, one the 
Homeopathic Medical Society of the State of New York, and one the Eclectic 
Medical Society of the State of New York. Each of these three societies shall at 
each annual meeting nominate twice the number of examiners to be appointed in 
that year on the board representing it. The names of such nominees shall be 
annually transmitted under seal by the president and secretary, prior to May 1, to 
the regents, who shall, prior to August 1, appoint from such lists the examiners 
required to fill any vacancies that will occur from expiration of term on August 1. 
Any other vacancy, however occurring, shall likewise be filled by the regents for 
the unexpired term. Each nominee before appointment shall furnish to the 
regents proof that he has received the degree of doctor of medicine from some 
registered medical school and that he has legally practiced medicine in this State 
for at least five years. If no nominees are legally before them from a society the 
regents may appoint from members in good standing of such society without 
restriction. The regents may remove any examiner for misconduct, incapacity, 
or neglect of duty. [ 

(See also ordinance 47. ) 

§142. Certificate of appointment; oath; powers; Every medical examiner shall 
receive a certificate of appointment from the regents, and before beginning his j 
term of office shall file with the secretary of state the constitutional oath of office. ' 
Each board, or any committee thereof, raay take testimony and proofs concerning ji 
all matters within its jurisdiction. Each board may, subject to the regents' 1 
approval, make all by-laws and rules not inconsistent with law needed in per- 
forming its duty; but no by-law or rule by which more than a majority vote is 
required for any specified action by the board shall be amended, suspended, or 
repealed by a smaller vote than that required for action thereunder. 

§ 145. Admission to examination: The regents shall admit to examination any 
andidate who pays a fee of $25 and submits satisfactory evidences, verified by oath, 
if required, that he — 



II 



A CENTURY OF UNIVERSITY WORK. 129 

1. Is more than 21 years of age. 

2. Is of good moral character. 

3. Has the general education required preliminary to receiving the degree of 
baclielor or doctor of medicine in this State. 

4. Has studied medicine not less than four full school years of at least nine months 
each, including four satisfactory courses of at least six months each in four dif- 
ferent calendar years in a medical school registered as maintaining at the time 
a satisfactory standard. New York medical schools and New York medical stu- 
dents shall not be discriminated against by the registration of any medical school 
out of the State whose minimum graduation standard is less than that fixed bj- 
statute for New York medical schools. The regents may, in their discretion, 
accept as the equivalent for any part of the third and fourth requirement, evidence 
of five or more years' reputable practice, provided that such substitution be speci- 
fied in the license. 

5. Has either received the degree of bachelor or doctor of medicine from some 
registered medical school, or a diploma or license conferring full right to practice 
medicine in some foreign country. The degree of bachelor or doctor of medicine 
shall not be conferred in this State before the candidate has filed with the institu- 
tion conferring it the certificate of the regents that before beginning the first annual 
medical course counted toward the degree unless matriculated conditionally as 
hereinafter specified (three years before the date of the degree), he had either 
graduated from a registered college or satisfactorily completed a full course in a 
registered academy or high school ; or had a preliminary education considered and 
accepted by the regents as fully equivalent; or held a regents' medical student cer- 
tificate, granted before this act took effect; or had passed regents" examinations- 
as hereinafter provided. A medical school may matriculate conditionally a stu- 
dent deficient in not more than one year's academic work or 12 counts of the pre- 
liminary education requirement, provided the name and deficiency of each student 
so matriculated be filed at the regents' office within three months after matricula- 
tion, and that the deficiency be made up before the student begins the second 
anniial medical course counted toward the degree. 

NOTES ON THE LAW AS TO ADMISSION. 

The regents will accept as fully equivalent to the required academic course any 
one of the following: 

a. A certificate of having successfully completed at least one full year's course 
of study in the collegiate department of any college or university, registered by 
the regents as maintaining a satisfactory standard. 

h. A certificate of having passed in a registered institution examinations equiva- 
lent to the full collegiate course of the freshman year or to a completed academic 
course. 

(Three full academic years of satisfactory work may be accepted as a high- 
school course till August 1, 1896, when four full academic years will be required.) 

c. Regents' passcards for any 48 academic counts or any regenfs diploma. 

d. A certificate of graduation from any registered gymnasium in Germany, 
Austria, or Russia. 

e. A certificate of the successful completion of a course of five years in a regis- 
tered Italian ginnasio and three years in a liceo. 

/. The bachelor's degree in arts or science, or substantial equivalents from any 
registered institution in France or Spain. 

g. Any credential from a registered institution or from the government in any 
State or country which represents the completion of a course of study equivalent 
to graduation from a registered New York high school or academy or from a 
registered Prussian gymnasium. 
3176 9 



130 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION" IN NEW YORK. 

§ 146. Questions: Each board shall submit to the regents, as required, lists of 
suitable questions for thorough examination in anatomy, physiology and hygiene, 
chemistry, surgery, obstetrics, pathology and diagnosis, and therapeutics, includ- 
ing practice and materia medica. From these lists the regents shall prepare 
question papers for all these subjects, which at any examination shall be the same 
for all candidates, except that in therapeutics, practice, and materia medica all 
the questions submitted to any candidate shall be chosen from those prepared by 
the board selected by that candidate, and shall be in harmony with the tenets of 
that school as determined by its State board of medical examiners. 

§ 147. Examinations and reports: Examinations for license shall be given in at 
least four convenient places in this State and at least four times annually, in 
accordance with the regents' rules, and shall be exclusively in writing and in 
English. Each examination shall be conducted by a regent's examiner, who shall 
not ba one of the medical examiners. At the close of each examination the 
regent's examiner in charge shall deliver the questions and answer papers to the 
board selected by each candidate or to its duly authorized committee, and such 
board, without unnecessary delay, shall examine and mark the answers and trans- 
mit to the regents an official report, signed by its president and secretary, stating 
the standing of each candidate in each branch, his general average, and whether 
the board recommends that a license be granted. Sach report shall include the 
questions and answers, and shall be filed in the public records of the university. 
If a candidate fails on first examination he may, after not less than six months' 
further study, have a second examination without fee. If the failure is from 
illness or other cause satisfactory to the regents, they may waive the required six 
months' study. 

§ 148. Licenses: On receiving from a State board an official report that an appli- 
cant has successfully passed the examinations and is recommended for license, the 
regents shall issue to him, if in their judgment he is duly qualified therefor, a 
license to practise medicine. Every license shall be issued by the university under 
seal, and shall be signed by each acting medical examiner of the board selected 
and by the officer of the university who approved the credential which admitted 
the candidate to examination, and shall state that the licensee has given satis- 
factory evidence of fitness as to age, character, preliminary and medical educa- 
tion, and all other matters required by law, ar^d that after full examination he 
has been found properly qualified to practise. Applicants examined and licensed 
by other State examining boards registered by the regents as maintaining stand- 
ards not lower than those provided by this article, and applicants who matricu- 
lated in a New York State medical school before June 5, 1890, and who receive 
the degree M. D. from a registered medical school before August 1, 1895, may, 
without further examination, on payment of $10 to the regents and on submitting 
such evidence as they may require, receive from them an indorsement of their 
licenses or diplomas conferring all rights and privileges of a regent's license 
issued after examination. 

If any person whose registration is not legal because of some error, misunder- 
standing, or unintentional omission shall submit satisfactory proof that he had 
all requirements prescribed by law at the time of his imperfect registration and 
was entitled to be legally registered, he may, on unanimous recommendation of 
a State board of medical examiners, receive from the regents under seal a certifi- 
cate of the facts, which may be registered by any county clerk, and shall make 
valid the previous imperfect registration. 

Before any license is issued it shall be numbered and recorded in a book kept in 
the regents' office, and its number shall be noted in the license. This record shall 
be open to public inspection, and in all legal proceedings shall have the same 
weight as evidence that is given to a record of conveyance of land. 



A CENTURY OF UNIVERSITY WORK. 131 

§ 153. Penalties and their collection: Any person who, not being then lawfully 
authorized to practise medicine within this State and so registered according to 
law, shall practise medicine within this State without lawful registration or in 
violation of any provision of this article; and any person who shall buy, sell, or 
fraudulently obtain any medical diploma, license, record, or registration, or who 
shall aid or abet such buying, selling, or fraudulently obtaining, or who shall prac- 
tise medicine under cover of any medical diploma, license, record, or registration 
illegally obtained, or signed or issued unlawfully or under fraudulent representa- 
tions or mistake of fact in a material regard, or who, after conviction of a felony, 
shall attempt to practise medicine, or shall so practise; and any person who shall 
append the letters M. D. to his or her name, or shall assume or advertise the title 
of doctor (or any title which shall show or tend to show that the person assuming 
or advertising the same is a practitioner of any of the branches of medicine) in such 
a manner as to convey the impression that he or she is a legal practitioner of medi- 
cine or of any of its branches without having legally received the medical degree, 
or without having received a license which constituted at the time an authority 
to practise medicine under the laws of this State then in force, shall be guilty of 
a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not more 
than $250 or imprisonment for six months for the first offense, and on conviction 
of any subsequent offense by a fine of not more than $500 or imprisonment for 
not less than one year, or by both fine and imprisonment. Any person who shall 
practise medicine under a false or assumed name, or who shall falsely personate 
another practitioner of a like or different name, shall be guilty of a felony. When 
any prosecution under this article is made on the complaint of any incorporated 
medical society of the State or any county medical society of such county entitled 
to representation in a State society, the fines when collected shall be paid to the 
society making the complaint, and any excess of the amount of fines so paid over 
the expense incurred by the said society in enforcing the medical laws of this 
State shall be paid at the end of the year to the country treasurer. (As amended 
by laws of 1895, ch. 398.) 

Practice op Dentistry. 

[Public health law, 1893, ch. 661, art. 9, as amended to June, 1897.] 

The practice of dentistry and of veterinary medicine likewise 
require the license of the board of regents after due examination, 
(See public health law, 1893, chap. 661.) 



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III 



1"!^ - - 




PART II. 

THE INSTITUTIONS COMPRISED IN THE 
UNIVERSITY. 

CHAPTER 5. 

UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES FOR MEN, INCLUDING THOSE ALSO 
ADMITTING WOMEN. 

Columbia University, Seth Low, LL. D., President— Columbia College— Faculty of law— College 
of Physicians and Surgeons— Faculty of applied science— Faculty of political science— Facility 
of philosophy— Faculty of pure science— Teachers' College— Barnard College. 

^ 1, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. 

By Frank R. Hathaway, A. M. 

King's. College 1754-1784. 

On the 31st day of October, 1754, King George II granted a charter 
to "King's College in the city of New York," "for the education and 
instruction of youth in the liberal arts and sciences." This charter 
was the outcome of years of effort on the part of those interested in 
the welfare of the colony, but in so short a sketch it is not necessarj^ 
to go back further than the first measure, an act of the assembly 
passed in 1746, by which it was provided that moneys should be raised 
by public lottery "for the encouragement of learning." Under this 
and subsequent acts the sum of £3,433 18s. was raised, and in 1751 
this fund was vested in a board of trustees, ten in number, of whom one 
was a Presbyterian, two belonged to the Dutch Reformed Chuch, and 
the remaining seven to the Church of England, some of them being 
vestrymen of Trinity Church. 

The fact that so large a proportion of the trustees belonged to the 
Church of England led to fears among the colonists lest the college 
should become a church institution, and when the plan of obtaining 
a royal charter became known a very bitter opposition arose. It was 
led by Mr. William Livingston and represented the American as 
against the English sentiment. He began in March, 1753, to publish 
in the Independent Reflector "Remarks on our intended college," in 
which he claimed that it should be founded by an act of assembly, not 
by royal charter. 

In the fall of this year, in the face of the opposition. Rev. Dr. 
Samuel .Johnson, of Connecticut, was invited to be president of the 
new institution at a salary of £250, with Mr. Chauncey Whittlesey 

183 



134 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

as an assistant, at £200 — not very great inducements, surely, but all 
that the college could afford at that time. Later on Dr. Johnson was 
enabled to increase his income, being appointed by the vestry of 
Trinity Church an "assistant minister" of that parish, with a salary 
of £150. Moving to New York in the spring. Dr. Johnson commenced 
his labors immediately, but he did not formally accept the position 
until after the granting of the charter in October. 

At a meeting of the trustees on the 16th of May a draft of the pro- 
posed charter was read and formally opposed by Mr. Livingston, but 
in spite of his efforts the trustees proceeded with their application, 
and in expectation of success advertised their entrance examinations 
for the 17th of July. On that day, in the vestry room of the school- 
house belonging to Trinity Church, the following eight men were 
examined for admission to the college: Samuel Yerplank, Robert 
Bayard, Samuel Provost, Thomas Marston, Henry Cruger, and Joshua 
Bloomer. 
Three months later the charter was granted, and appointed — 
The most Reverend Father in God, Thomas, Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, 
and the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury for the time being; The Right Honorable 
Dunk, Earl of Halifax, first Lord Commissioner for Trade and Plantations for 
the time being; our now Lieutenant-Governor and Commander in Chief of our 
Province of New York, and the Governor or Commander in Chief of our said 
Province for the time being; tlie eldest Councilor of our said Province now and 
for the time being; the Judges of our Supreme Court of Judicature of our said 
Province now and for the time being; the Secretary of our said Province now and 
for the time being; the Attorney-General of our said Province now and for the 
time being: the Speaker of the General Assembly of our said Province now and 
for the time being; the Treasurer of our said Province now and for the time being; 
the Mayor of our said City of New York now and for the time being; the Rector 
of Trinity Church in our said City now and for the time being; the Senior Min- 
ister of the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church in our said City now and for the 
time being; the Minister of the ancient Lutheran Church in our said City now 
and for the time being; the Minister of the French Church in our said City now 
and for the time being; the Minister of the Presbyterian Congregation in our 
said City for the time being; the President of the said College appointed by these 
Presents, and the President of the said College for the time being; and Archibald 
Kennedy, Joseph Murray, Josiali Martin, Paul Richard, Henry Cruger, William 
Walton. John Watts, Henry Beekman, Philip Ver Plank, Frederick Philipse, 
Joseph Robinson, John Cruger, Oliver De Lancey, James Livingston, Esqtiires, 
Benjamin Nicoll, William Livingston, Joseph Read, Nathaniel Marston, Joseph 
Haynes. John Livingston, Abraham Lodge, David Clarkson, Leonard Lispenard, 
and James De Lancey the Younger, Gentlemen, to be the present Governors of 
the said College; 

And made them " a Body politick and Corporate," capable of hold- 
ing land, suing, and being sued. 

At a meeting held on the 7th of May, 1755, the charter was formally 
presented by the lieutenant-governor, Mr. James De Lancey, and the 
legal oath was administered to the governors by Mr. Horsmanden, a 
judge of the supreme court. At their «iext meeting, held a week 
later, the board of governors of the college, being now organized and 



COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. 135 

authorized by law to hold property, Trinitj'- Church carried out the 
original plan and presented them with a piece of property west of 
Broadway between Barclay and Murray streets, facing- on Church 
street and extending to the North River, the same being a portion of 
the King's farm, which it was believed had been vested in the church 
as well for the encouragement of learning as of religion. This gift 
was on condition that — 

the president of the said college for the time being shal forever hereafter be a 
member of and in communion with the Church of England. 

This conditional clause greatly increased the opposition to the 
charter. Mr. Livingston looked upon the college as a sectarian school, 
and objected strenuously to using for the support of any church insti- 
tution moneys collected by the State. This was the popular side of 
the cause, and in December, 1756, it became in a measure successful; 
for the moneys collected by public lottery were then divided between 
the college and the "mayor and commonality of the city of New 
York."i 

An interesting episode in this controversy took place at the first 
meeting of the governors. The Rev. Mr. Ritzema, senior minister of 
the Reformed Protestant Dutch Church, in an address upon the sub- 
ject expressed a wish that some plan could be "fallen upon" to con- 
trovert the charge of sectarianism. He suggested that a chair in 
divinity be founded in the college and be filled by a minister of the 
Reformed Protestant Dutch Church. The governors immediately 
acquiesced, and a committee was appointed to arrange for the altering 
of the charter, and at a subsequent meeting an addition to the charter 
was read providing for "a professor in divinity according to the Doc- 
trine, Discipline, and Worship established by the Synod of Dort." 
This proved merely a sop to Cerberus, for the chair so created was 
never occupied. 

On the 3d of June, 1755, the governors adopted a seal, of which the 
following is a description, copied literallj^ from the minutes : 

The device of the College Seal, — The College is represented by a Lady sitting in 
a Throne or Chair of State, with Severall Children at her Knees to represent the 
Pupils, with I Peter II. , 1, 2, 7 v., under them to express the Temper with which 
they should apply Themselves to seek for True Wisdom. The words are, Where- 
fore laying aside all Malice and all Guile, and Hypocrises and Envies and Evil 
Speakings, as New-born Babes desire the Sincere Milk of the Word that ye may 
grow thereby, &c. One of them She takes by the hand with her left hand express- 
ing her benevolent design of Conducting them to true Wisdom and Virtue. To 
which purpose She holds open to them a Book in her right hand in which is [inj 
Greek letters AOFIA ZflNTA, the living or lively Oracles, which is the Epithet 
that St. Stephen gives to the Holy Scriptures — Acts. 7:38. Out of her Mouth over 
her left Shoulder goes a Label with these words in Hebrew Letters ORI-EL, God 
is my light; alluding to Ps. 37 : 1. expressing her Acknowledgment of God the 
Father of Lights, as the Fountain of all that Light, both Natural and Revealed 
with which She proposes to enlighten or instruct her Children or Pupils; whereof 

' The division gave to each corporation the sum of £3,382. 



136 HTSTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IT^ NEW YORK. 

the Sun rising under the Label is the Emblem or Hieroglyphic, alluding to that 
expression Mai. IV, 2.. The Sun of Righteousness arising with healing in his ; 
Wings. Over her head is Jehovah in a Glory, the Beams coming triangularly to ,; 
a Point near her bead, with these words around her for her motto, In Liimine 
Tuo Videbimus Lumen — In thy light shall we see light Ps. 36 : 9. On the Edge 
around are engraved in Capitals, Sigillum Collegii Reg. Nov. Ebor. in America — 
The Seal of King's College at New York in America. 

During the first two years of its existence the college was without a 
home, but after a length}^ discussion of the subject a plan was adopted 
and Sir Charles Hardy, then governor of the province, laid the first 
stone on the 23d of August, 1756. When the old college building was 
torn down, in 1857, this stone, which contains a suitable inscription, 
was carefully preserved and built into the wall of the present chapel. 
Another relic of the colonial days is a weather-beaten copper crown. 
This emblem of royalty used to surmount the cupola of the building 
in College place, and has lately been given a prominent position in 
the new library- building. A traveler who visited New York in 1760 
says : 

The college, when finished, will be exceedingly handsome. It is to be built on 
three sides of a quadrangle, fronting Hudson's or North River, and will be the 
most beautifully situated of any college, I believe, in the world.' 

When the second class was admitted to the college it became neces- 
sary for Dr. Johnson to have an assistant. His son, Mr. William 
Johnson, was accordingly appointed in the place of Mr. Whittlesey, 
who, on account of poor health, had never entered upon the duties of 
that position. After about a year Mr. William Johnson went abroad 
to take orders, and Mr. Leonard Cutting was appointed to fill his 
place. In November, 1756, the smallpox broke out in the city and 
Dr. Johnson left the college to the care of Mr. Cutting and took refuge 
in the country. The work of the three classes proved too much for 
Mr. Cutting, and the governors procured Mr. Tread well and appointed 
him professor of mathematics and natural philosophy, and provided 
him wath "an apparatus of instruments for teaching experimental 
philosophy in the college." Mr. Tread well was expected also to teach 
Latin and Greek to the two younger classes. A committee was ap- 
pointed from the governors to visit the College during the absence of 
Dr. Johnson, and even after his return the committee was continued 
for some years as a visiting committee to look after the general wel- 
fare of the College. 

The president returned to the city in March, 1758, and at a meeting 
held May 9, Dr. Johnson, Mr. Barclay, Mr. Ritzema, Mr. Weygand, 
Mr. Carlo, Colonel Martin, Mr. Nicoll, and Mr. John Livingston were 
appointed a committee to arrange for a commencement. The first 
commencement of King's College was according^ held on the 21st of 

' Travels through the Middle Settlements in North America in the years 1759- 
1760, with observations u :on the state of the Colonies. By Rev. Andrew Burnaby, 
A. M., Vicar of Greenwich. T. Payne, London, 1765, quarto edition, p. 61. 



COLUMBIA UNIVEESITY. 137 

June, 1758, and the degree of A. B. was conferred on eight men, twelve 
more receiving the degree of A. M. The following year no commence- 
ment was held, two men, however, received the degree of A. B. 

In the spring of 1760, the partially completed buildings having been 
occupied, a procession of the governors, ofi&cers, instructors, and stu- 
dents formed on the college green and marched from there to St. 
George's Chapel, where the third annual commencement was held. 
Writing at this time Dr. Burnaby said: 

At present the state of it [the college] is far from being flourishing or as good 
as might be wished. Its fund does not exceed £10,000 currency and there is a 
great scarcity of professors. A commencement was held, nevertheless, this sum- 
mer (1760) and seven' gentlemen too c degrees. There are in it at this time about 
twenty-four students. The president, Dr. Johnson, is a very worthy man. but 
rather too far advanced in life to have the direction of so young an institution. 
The late Dr. Bristow left to this college a fine library, of which they are in daily 
expectation. 

Dr. Johnson was instructed to order these books delivered to a 
London agent and to request him to insure them and have them 
"shipt." He did so, but it was a long while before the books were 
received and even then there seems to have been a mistake by which 
some of them were lost. 

The work of finding new instructors was a difficult one, and in Feb- 
ruary, 1760, a committee was appointed to write to the Archbishop of 
Canterbury requesting him to procure two competent men and author- 
izing him to offer £150 for one and £80 for the other, the salar}^ to 
begin at the time of embarkation. At the opening of the next terra 
the chair in mathematics and natural philosophj^, left vacant by the 
death of Mr. Treadwell, was filled by the appointment of Mr. Robert 
Harpur, but it was some time longer before the trustees succeeded in 
finding the second instructor for whom they had been looking, not, in 
fact, until November, 1762, when the Rev. Myles Cooper was made a 
fellow of the college and professor of moral x)hilosoph3^ His salary 
was fixed at £150, and for this he was expected, in addition to instruct- 
ing his own classes, to assist the president, whose duties had been to 
give instruction in Creek, logic, metaphysics, and ethics. 

On the 25th of March, 1761, it was— 

Ordered, That Mr. Edward Willett be appointed steward of King"s College dur- 
ing pleasure, to provide such of the students as have an inclination to diet with 
him upon such terms as shall be agreed upon between them, and that he have 
the use of two rooms and a kitchen in the college, and such part of the garden as 
the President and he shall agree upon, he causing the students" rooms to be 
kept clean and the beds made. Also that the students breakfast, ditie, and sup 
together in the college hall, but that they be allowed no meat at suppers. 

At the fall meeting in 1761 a committee was appointed to level the 
college grounds, plant trees, and build a fence and porter's lodge, 
and we learn from a paper left by President Cooper that the lodge 

' The college catalogue gives only six names. 



138 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION 11^ NEW YORK. 

gate was closed summer nigMs at 10 o'clock and winter nights at 9, 
and the names of all who came in after these hours were reported to 
the president. 

On the 1st of March, 1763, Dr. Johnson resigned, and Mr. Cooper 
occupied his place until the 12th of April, when he was formally elected 
to the position of president at a salary of £270. In the fall President 
Cooper's salary was increased to £400, and at the same meeting letters 
were received from the agents who had been collecting monej^ abroad, 
authorizing the college to draw £5,000. The first commencement 
under the administration of President Cooper took place May 17, 1763, 
when two students received the degree of A. B. and seven alumni of 
the college that of A. M. 

ESTABLISHMENT OF A MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 

In August, 1767, the governors received letters from Drs. Samuel 
Clossey, Peter Middleton, John Jones, James Smith, Samuel Bard, 
and John V. B. Tennent suggesting the establishment of a medical 
department in the college and offering their services as lecturers 
during the winter. Their offer was accepted, and the appointments 
were made as follows: Dr. Clossey, lecturer in anatomy; Dr. Middle- 
ton, in physiology and pathology; Dr. Bard, in the theory and practice 
of "phj^sick;" Dr. Jones, in the theorj^ of "chirurgery," with a course 
of lectures on the human body; Dr. Smith, in chemistry; Dr. Tennent, 
in materia medica and midwifery. From this unpretentious begin- 
ning, as will hereafter be seen, grew one of the finest and best equipped 
medical schools in the world. 

In 1773 Rev. John Vardill was appointed professor of natural law, 
and soon after of history and languages. He was the first alumnus 
of the College who received an appointment as instructor in the Col- 
lege. Under Dr. Cooper the College was prosperous, but he was a 
royalist and got himself into ill repute by writing political papers. 
Finally his house was entered by a mob and he was forced to flee for 
his life. Escaping from the grounds, he wandered along the shore of 
the river until near morning, when he took refuge in the house of his 
friend Mr. Stuyvesent, and soon after sailed for England. The stu- 
dents, led by Alexander Hamilton, showed that although the College 
was English in religion, it was not, as it had been called, "a hotbed 
of royalism." May 16, the Rev. Benjamin Moore, an alumnus of the 
College, was appointed president pro tem. 

On the 6th of April, 1776, the Committee of Safety ordered the 
buildings to be gotten ready to receive troops, and accordingly the 
books and apparatus were stored, the rooms were converted into hos- 
pital wards, and for eight years the College had but a slumbering 
existence. 

We are indebted to a paper, said to have been written by President 



COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. 139 

Cooper, for some valuable information concerning the College and its 
management. Speaking of the institution, he says: 

Herein are taught by proper masters and professors, who are chosen by the gov- 
ernors and president, divinity, natural law, physic, logic, ethics, metaphysics, 
mathematics, natural philosophy, astronomy, geography, history, chronology, 
rhetoric. Hebrew, Greek. Latin, modern languages, the belles-lettres, and what- 
ever else of literature may tend to accomplish the pupils as scholars and gentlemen. 

To the college is also annexed a grammar school for the due preparation of those 
who propose to complete their education with the arts and sciences. 

All students but those in med;cine are obliged to lodge and diet in the college 
unless they are particularly exempted by the governors or president. . . . 

Visitations by the governors are quarterly, at which times premiums of books, 
silver medals, etc., are adjudged to the most deserving. 

POUNDING OF COLUMBIA COLLEGE, 1784-1787. 
UNDER THE REGENTS. 

Very little is known of the history of the College during the years 
of the war ; in fact, it had little history. The College Record remarks : 

The turbulence and confusion which prevail in every part of the country effec- 
tually suppress every literary pursuit. 

It would seem, however, that some instruction continued to be given under 
the auspices of King's College, though not within its walls, for we find in its 
matricula the names of William Walton and James De Lancey Walton, entered 
in the year 1777; and the governors appear to have met occasionally after this, 
for there exists a certified copy of minutes of a meeting on the 17th of May, 1781. 
These are the only indications, faint as they are, which have been discovered of 
the existence of the College during a period of eight years — from the spring of 
1776 to that of 1784 — except that it afterwards appears from the minutes of the 
trustees of Columbia College on the 28th of March, 1788, that Mr. Moore, the pres- 
ident ad interim, occupied during a part of this period a house furnished by Mr. 
Lispenard for the use of the officers and students of the College when the College 
edifice was converted into an hospital. ' 

With its president gone, its instructors scattered, its books and 
instruments stored or lost, the College had sunk to a veiy low ebb, 
and legislative aid had become a necessity. On the 25th of Novem- 
ber, 1783, the British evacuated New York, and six months later, on 
the 1st of May, 1784, in response to a strong appeal from Governor 
George Clinton, the legislature passed "An act for granting certain 
privileges to the college heretofore called King's College for altering 
the name and charter thereof, and erecting an university within this 
State. "^ By this act the rights, privileges, and immunities of the 
College were vested in a body called the "Regents of the University 
of the State of New York," which was to consist of the governor, lieu- 
tenant-governor, president of the senate, speaker of the assembly, 
mayors of New York and Albany, the attorney -general and the secre- 
tary of State ex officio, and twenty-four gentlemen appointed by 

^ Moore's Historical Sketch, p. 64. 

^Laws of the State of New York, seventh session, ch. 51. 



140 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

name, among whom were Mr. Henry Brockholst Livingston, the son 
of the gentleman who, thirty j^ears before, had so bitterly opposed 
the royal charter, and Mr. Robert Harpur, who had been connected 
with the royal institution as professor of mathematics. Further, the 
clergy of the respective religious denominations were empowered to 
meet and elect a regent to represent them in the University. To this 
body was given all powers and responsibilities respecting the college 
heretofore known as King's College. They were to hold the property, 
appoint the president and professors, and attend to the general man- 
agement, but it was especially enacted that no religious test oath 
should be required and that "no professor shall be in anywise what- 
soever accounted ineligible for or by reason of ^.Tiy religious tenet or 
tenets that he may or shall profess." The last clause of the act 
changed the name from King's to Columbia College. m 

The first act of this board of regents after organization was the 
appointment of several committees, one "to demand and receive 
from the late corporation of the college called King's College " wliat- 
ever property it had held, and others charged with the repairs of the 
college edifice, the preparing of by-laws, the engaging of proper 
instructors, etc. One of the first instructors engaged was the Rev. 
John Peter Tetard, who was appointed professor of the French lan- 
guage. A committee of the regents, consisting of the chancellor. 
Governor George Clinton; the vice-chancellor, Hon. Pierre Van Cort- 
landt; the secretary, Mr. Robert Harpur; the maj^or of New York, 
and the newly appointed Professor Tetard, was chosen to conduct all 
examinations, and the first man to appear before them was De Witt 1 
Clinton, who entered the junior class. From this time, so long as the 
College remained in the care of the regents, all examinations were j 
conducted by such committees. 

The regents appear to have been very zealous in their efforts to 
make the college the nucleus of a great universitj'-. With this view 
the}^ applied themselves diligentl}^ to obtain subscriptions of money 
toward the maintenance of the college, and making large calculations 
probably on the success of these, they resolved December 14, 1784, to 
organize the four faculties of arts, divinity, medicine, and law, mak- 
ing the first to comprise seven professorships, the second to consist 
of such as might be established b3^ the different religious societies 
within the State pursuant to the act instituting the university, the 
third to be composed of seven professors, and the last of three. Besides 
all which there were to be nine extra professors, a president, a secre- 
tary, and a librarian. 

All this magnificent scheme was adopted when the entire income from the real 
and personal property of the college did not exceed the sum of £1,200.' 

Naturally this elaborate plan was not carried out. No president 
was appointed, and of the four faculties proposed those in divinity 

' Historical Sketch, p. 68. 



COLUMBIA UNIVEBSITY. 141 

and law were not created. The other two, howevei% were quite com- 
plete, the faculty of arts comprising professors in Greek and Latin, 
French, German, oriental languages, rhetoric and logic, natural phi- 
losophy and astronomy, natural history and chemistry, and a tutor in 
mathematics who was afterward made professor. 

The candidate for admission under this faculty was required to be 
able "to render into English Caesar's Commentaries on the Gallic 
War, the four orations of Cicero against Catiline, the first four books 
of Virgil's ^Eneid, and the Gospels from the Greek." He was also 
required "to explain the government and connection of the words 
and to turn English into grammatical Latin." The requirements in 
mathematics were simply the first four rules of arithmetic with the 
rule of three. ^ 

The faculty of medicine was very well equipped with Drs. Bard, 
Kissam, McKnight, Romaine, and Crosby, teaching chemistry, medi- 
cine, anatomy and surgerj^, ]3ractrice and obstetrics. 

Discipline was maintained by means of fines, a system which has 
been entirely abandoned in institutions of this kind. 

Instead of one long summer vacation, our predecessors had their 
resting periods scattered through the year. There were two vacations- 
of six weeks each, the first beginning immediately after commence- 
ment and the second after the examination in October. 

THE NEW CHARTER. 

The board of regents was composed of a large number of gentlemen 
from different parts of the State, and three years' experience under 
its government proved that the college could not be successful if its 
educational as well as financial administration were placed in so scat- 
tered a bodj^ No one appreciated this fact better than the regents 
themselves, and a movement for reform, led by two of their number, 
Alexander Hamilton and Ezra L'Hommedieu, began in the winter of 
1786-87. A committee was appointed to submit to the legislature a 
scheme for reorganization, and as a result there was passed on the 
13th of April, 1787, "An act to institute an university within this 
State, and for other purposes herein mentioned." ^ By this act a char- 
ter was granted to Columbia College similar to the old royal charter, 
liaving only a change of name and such alterations as "s^ere made nec- 
essary by the change of the National Government. A number of 
gentlemen from the board of regents were chosen to form a board of 
trustees for the college, and Columbia became independent of the 
State university, subject only to visitation and general supervision. 
It was provided that the board of trustees should consist of 24 gentle- 
men; that it should be perpetuated by cooptation, and that "no per- 
sons should be trustees in virtue of any offices, characters, or descrip- 

iStatiites, 1785. 
^Laws of the State of New York, tenth session, chap. 82. 



142 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

tions whatever," thus ridding the board of any political bias. The 
entire government, educational and financial, and the choice of all 
college officers was committed to this board. 

The first meeting of the trustees of Columbia College was held on 
Tuesday, the 8th of May, 1787, and Mr. Brockholst Livingston was 
reappointed treasurer and Mr. Robert Harpur clerk. The by-laws 
which had been established b}^ the I'egents were adopted in so far as 
they were not repugnant to the new constitution of the college. 

The Early Presidencies, 1787-1849. 

At their third meeting the trustees elected William Samuel John- 
son, LL. D., the son of the first president of King's College, to be the 
first president of Columbia College. His assistants were, in the school 
of arts. Professors Cochran and Kemp, and in the school of medicine, 
Drs. Kissam, McKnight, and Crosby. 

Under the regents no academic dress had been worn either by stu- 
dents or professors, but an early resolution of the trustees "recom- 
mended to the president and professors of the college to wear gowns." ^ 
This was seconded by a petition of the students, and the following 
resolution was adopted b}^ the trustees : 

Resolved, That for the present such of the students as choose to wear gowns be, 
and they are hereby, permitted to wear them.- 

The college at this time was in a very trying situation. Of the 39 
students, but 5 boarded in the college. The yearlj^ income of the 
institution was only about £1,300, and legislative aid had become a 
necessity. In 1790 the report of the regents to the legislature was 
accompanied by a petition from the trustees of Columbia College 
for pecuniary assistance. These communications were submitted to 
a joint committee, and on the 4th of March, through Mr. Duane, 
they reported themselves as "unanimously of the opinion that the 
rents and profits of the land belonging to this State at Crown 
Point, Ticonderoga, and Fort George, on Lake George, and also the 
island near the city of New York, commonly called Governor's Island, 
together with the sum of £1,000, ought to be vested in the regents of 
the university, to enable them to supply the wants of the said college 
and the respective academies and to answer the ends of their institu- 
tion."^ The substance of this report was embodied in a bill which 
passed on the 31st of the same month.* 

That this gift was appreciated is shown by the report of the regents 
for the following year: 

The provision for the promotion of sound learning and true philosophy which 
was made by the legislature at their last session has been faithfully applied to 

' Resolutions of the Trustees (published 1868), p. 155. 

■' Ibid, p. 9. 

3 Senate Journal, 1790, p. 24; Assembly Journal, p. 51. 

■^Laws of the State of New York, thirteenth session, chap. 38. 



COLUMBIA UNIVEKSITY. 143 

effect the important object for which their liberality was exerted. Although the 
sum granted is not altogether adequate to the exigencies of the seminaries under 
our inspection, it will in a great degree relieve their more immediate and pressing 
necessities, and so far answer the generous intentions of the legislature by pro- 
curing a mathematical and philosophical apparatus of which even Columbia Col- 
lege is almost entirely destitute. The money has been distributed in such a 
manner as we conceived would prove most subservient to the promotion of litera- 
ture. One moiety of it has been given to Columbia College, and the remainder is 
to be divided among the four academies which were incorporated before our last 
report. ' 

The next report stated that purchases of apparatus had been made, 
but added that the library and apparatus were still very defective, 
and that the funds were not sufficient to enable the trustees to estab- 
lish several very important professorships and to erect a convenient 
hall for public exhibitions and for other necessary purposes.^ 

On the 11th of April, 1792, the legislature gave further aid to the 
college by the passage of an act directing the treasurer to pay to the 
trustees the sum of £1,500 for the purpose of enlarging the library, 
the sum of £200 for a chemical apparatus, the sum of £1,200 for the 
purpose of building a wall to support the grounds of the college, made 
necessary by the lowering of the grade of the street, and, further, the 
sum of £5,000 for the purpose of erecting a hall and an additional 
wing to the college, pursuant to the original plan of the institution.^ 
The same act provided for the payment of £750 per annum for five 
years, and by a subsequent act this was extended two years longer.* 

Encouraged by this liberality, the trustees made many important 
changes during this year. Acting on the suggestion of the medical 
society of the State, and in* concert with the regents cf the university, 
they improved the organization of the medical school by the creation 
of the office of dean of the faculty. To this position they elected Dr. 
Samuel Bard, who had been professor of the theory and practice of 
medicine in King's College, and who had more recently held, first, the 
professorship of chemistry, and then that of natural philosophy and 
astronomy, during the administration of the regents. The new fac- 
ulty consisted of Drs. Bailey, Post, Rodgers, Hamersley, Smith, NicoU, 
and Kissam, whose assiduity and skill carried out the noble design of 
the founders, so that in 1793 the regents were able to report "that 
now a complete course of medical instruction is annually delivered in 
the college," and the school, which at present consists of 37 students, 
is daily increasing. 

In the following year an important step was taken in the election 
of Mr. James Kent to a professorship in law. For five years he deliv- 
ered courses of lectures intended to fit young men for practice at the 
bar. Twenty-five years later he resumed the work as Dr. Kent and 
has since become widely known as the great Chancellor Kent. 

1 Senate Journal, 1791, p. 34; Assembly Journal, p. 51. 
•' Senate Journal, 1792, p. 29. 

^ Laws of the State of New York, fifteenth session, chap. 69. 
■^Ibid., nineteenth session, chap. 57. 



144 HISTORY OB" HIOHEE EDUCATION IN NEW TOEK. 

The creation of tlie chair in law was followed by the institution of 
a professorship in humanity, and a regular course of lectures was 
planned ' ' designed generally ' to explain and elucidate ancient learn- 
ing and to facilitate the acquisition of liberal knowledge.' "^ 

The report for this j^ear contains some interesting facts which' throw 
a good deal of light on the condition of the college in those early 
times and also give an idea of the value of scholastic abilities in the 
last part of the eighteenth century. 

The annual revenue arising from the estate belonging to Columbia College 
exclusive of some bonds which are not at present productive amounts to fifteen 
hundred and thirty-five pounds and is appropriated as follows— to the President 
£450, to the Professor of Natural Philosophy £350, to the Professor of the Greek 
and Latin Languages £300, to the Professor of Geography and Moral Philosophy 
£150, to the Secretary of the Board £50, to the Porter and ^lessenger £52, to the 
Treasurer £30 and there remain for repairs and contingent expenses £153. The 
President and Professors of the Faculty of Arts receive besides these fixed salaries 
from every student that attends them £3 per annum. The sum of £1500 granted 
by the Legislature for such additional professorships as might be established in 
the college has been appropriated as follows: — to the Professor of Chemistry and 
Agricu ture £300, to the Professor of Oriental Languages £100, to the Professor of 
the French Tongug £150, to the Pro'^essor of Law £200 and £50 are yet unappro- 
priated 

None of the professors of the medical faculty have any stated salary. '■' * * 
What they receive from the students is not by any means an adequate compensa- 
tion for their labor and services,^ 

In 1799 the trustees asked the legislature for a continuation of the 
£750 annuity which thej^ had been receiving since 1792. This having 
been refused, it became necessary to reduce the number of professor- 
ships. Those in oriental languages, French, and law were discontin- 
ued. The duty of teaching rhetoric and belles-lettres, logic, and 
moral philosophy devolved upon the president; mathematics and 
natural philosophy were united under one professor, and with this 
Columbia entered upon one of the most trying periods of her existence. 
The number of students in 1800 was only 94, and on the 16th of July 
Dr. Johnson resigned the presidency. For thirteen years Dr. John- 
son had administered the affairs of the college with skill and vigor. 
He was an educated Christian gentleman of rare ability and great 
literary attainments. Under the new National Government he was 
the first Senator from his native State, and held Ms ofS.ce so long as 
Congress sat in JSTew York, but on its removal to Philadelphia he 
resigned this honorable position that he might remain faithful to the 
college. The vacancy created by his resignation as president of 
Columbia was one not easily filled. The senior professor was empow- 
ered to preside at the ensuing commencement, and it was not until 
the 25th of May, 1801, that the trustees decided upon a successor. 

'Assembly Journal, 1795, p. 85., Report of the Regents concerning Columbia 
College. This chair does not appear in the catalogue. 
^Assembly journal, 1798, p. 321. 



COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. 145 

The Rev. Charles H. Wharton, S. T. D., of Philadelphia, was elected, 
and on the 3d of August he signified by letter his willingness to accept 
the of6.ce. On the 11th of December following he resigned after a 
term of less than five months. 

In its extremity the college turned to the Right Rev. Benjamin Moore, 
who had served it under the royal regime and had temporarily filled 
the president's chair during the war. Dr. Moore was at this time 
bishop of the diocese and his duties were too numerous to admit of 
his giving anj^ instruction in the college. He Avas therefore relieved 
of all professorial duties and charged simply with "the general 
superintendence of the institution. " To the important chair thus 
left vacant, including moral jDhilosophy, logic, rhetoric, and belles- 
lettres, the Rev. Dr. Bowden was elected with all but £100 of the 
salary formerly given to the president. The annual reports show 
that the number of students was continually increasing, but the 
trustees had a constant struggle to meet their expenses, and the 
buildings were falling into decay. 

COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS. 

In spite of the favorable report of the regents, showing the medical 
department of the college to be "on a respectable footing, although 
the professors receive no pecimiary emolument from the State and the 
corporation of the college is unable to afford them any," the Medical 
Society of the County of New York sent a memorial to the legislature 
in 1807 requesting that they be incorporated as a college to "promote 
medical knowledge," and asked that they be placed under the direc- 
tion, inspection, and patronage of the regents of the university. In 
response to this, within a month, the members of the society, number- 
ing 139, were duly incorporated as "The College of Physicians and 
Surgeons in the City of New York." The first faculty of this school 
was headed by Dr. Nicholas Romayne and Dr. Samuel L. Mitchell, 
both formerly lecturers in Columbia. The prime movers in the new 
institution were thus men who had been intimately connected with 
ihe medical department of the college, and the necessity of starting a 
new school and separating it from Columbia does not appear. 

In 1811 Dr. Bard, formerly dean of the medical department of 
Columbia, was elected to the presidency of the new college; and in 
1813, through the influence of Dr. David Hosack, the medical lectures 
of Columbia College were transferred to the new institution. 

Some years before this Dr. Hosack had established a botanic garden 
for the iDurpose of raising plants for the illustration of his lectures. 
Finding the garden too expensive for private maintenance he proposed 
to transfer its ownership to the State for public instruction in botany 
and materia medica. This proposal was finally agreed to, and "The 
Elgin Botanic Garden " was purchased by an act of the legislature and 
3176 10 



146 HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

assigned to the keeping of the regents of the university. They placed 
it under the care of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, "to be 
by them kept in a state of preservation and in a condition fit for all 
medical purposes, free of expense." This the new institution soon 
found itself unable to do, and the property proving a burden to them 
they returned it to the regents, who in turn granted it to the trustees 
of Columbia College upon condition that the college establishment 
should be removed to that location within twelve years. 

QUESTION OF SITE. 

A number of times during its history there had been propositions 
for the removal of the college to some less populous district, and this 
constant uncertainty had deterred the trustees from making any 
alterations in the buildings. In 1817 the regents requested that the 
trustees of the college consolidate the college property and funds with 
those of a new institution to which a charter had been granted under 
the name of Washington College, and for which Staten Island had 
been chosen as a site. This proposition excited a great deal of inter- 
est and led to a thorough investigation of the subject. It was 
referred to a committee of five of New York's most able men — Rich- 
ard Harrison, Rufus King, Brockholst Livingston, Bishop Hobart, 
and William Johnson. After mature deliberation this committee m^ade 
a report in which they stated that they deemed it the duty of the 
trustees not to accede to the proposal of the regents. 

The discussion of this subject was of great benefit to the college, 
for as soon as they had answered the proposition in the negative they 
became satisfied with their situation and decided to repair the build- 
ings and make the college what it should be where it was. A plan 
was accordingly agreed upon, and a committee appointed to carry it 
into effect. 

Two wings, each fifty feet square and each containing two houses for professors, 
were added to the extremities of the original edifice, and of this older building, 
which underwent very extensive alterations, one-fourth being reserved as a dwell- 
ing house, the residue was so arranged as to furnish a chapel, a library, and all 
the required recitation rooms. 

While these improvements were being made the trustees, presenting 
the facts to the legislature, stated that it would incur needless expense 
to move the college while the present buildings could be so easily 
made tenantable, and appealed to them to have the conditions on 
which they had received the Botanic Garden repealed. This request 
was granted by an act of February 19, 1819, and the trustees became 
unconditional owners of the tract of land now included between Fifth 
and Sixth avenues, extending from Forty-seventh to Fifty-first streets, 
an exceedingly valuable leasehold property, in comparison with which 
the sum of $10,000, granted at the same time, seems but a pittance. 



1 



COLUMBIA UNIVEESITY. 147 

This tract of land was the only considerable gift the college ever 
received from the legislature.^ 

CURRICULUM IN 1810. 

On the 22d of June, 1809, upon the recommendation of a committee 
consisting of Mr. Rufus King and the Reverend Doctors Mason, Abeel, 
Hobart, and Miller a regulation was adopted raising the requirements 
for admission very much higher than ever before, and in the follow- 
ing February a new course of studies and system of discipline were 
arranged in accordance with the new statute. 

To the requirements for admission, as stated above, were added 
several more Orations of Cicero, more of Virgil's ^'Eneid, Dalzel's 
Collectanea Minora, the first two books of Xenophon's Cyropsedia, 
and the first two books of Homer's Iliad. The requirements in math- 
ematics were raised. The candidate was required to "be well versed 
in the first four rules of arithmetic, the rule of three, direct and inverse, 
and decimal and vulgar fractions. " 

The course of study was made to include, in the freshman year, 
Cicero's Letters to Atticus, Sallust entire, Horace's Satires, Dalzel's 
Collectanea Majora, Xenophon's Memorabilia, Kent's Lucian, double 
translation, Latin verse, Roman antiquities, Euclid's Elements, 
geography, English grammar and reading, English composition and 
declamation. 

The sophomore class read Virgil's Georgics, Livy, the Odes and 
Epistles of Horace, Demosthenes, Homer, and Herodotus. They con- 
tinued double translation and Latin composition in prose and verse, 
also Roman antiquities, and began Greek antiquities. In mathematics 
they took up plane trigonometry and its applications, and algebra. 
They studied geography, elements of rhetoric, English composition, 
and declamation in English* and Latin. 

In the junior class under the professor of languages were read Cicero 
on Oratory, Terence, Quintilian, Longinus, and Sophocles. The class 
also reviewed Horace, Greek and Latin antiquities, continued double 
translation, and took up Greek composition in prose and verse. Eng- 
lish composition was continued with criticism and the student was 
required to declaim pieces of his own composition. History and 
chronology were added to geography, and in mathematics spherical 
trigonometry and conic sections were taken up. The important studies 
of this year were natural philosophy and the elements of ethics. 

In the senior year to a continuation and review of the subjects 
formerly pursued were added astronomy, fiuctions, analysis of intel- 
lectual powers, principles of reasoning, and law of nature and nations. 

^ This statement is not strictly accurate, as the college received in 1770 a grant 
of 24,000 acres of land " in the new county of Gloucester, in the Province of New 
York." This land, however, was included in the '• New Hampshire Grants," and 
was lost to the college. The State made no compensation, unless the subsequent 
grant of the Botanic Garden can be considered such. 



148 HISTOKY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

President Harris. 

In May, 1811, Bishop Moore, having seen the college thus reorgan- 
ized and its standard of education raised, resigned the presidency in 
order to make room for some one who would have it in his power to 
devote himself wholly to the college. On the 17th of June following 
the Rev. William Harris, S. T. D., rector of St. Mark's Church, was 
elected president, and the Rev. John M. Mason, S. T. D., was chosen 
to fill the newly created office of provost. This office, which was in 
fact a sort of vice-presidency coupled with the duty of instructing 
the seniors in the classics, only existed a few years. When Dr. Mason 
resigned, in 1816, on account of ill-health, the trustees determined 
that the powers and duties formerly connected with it should devolve 
upon the president and the classical professor. 

During the administration of President Harris the college met with 
two serious losses in the death of Drs, Kemp and Bowden. Dr. Kemp 
had for twenty-eight years been a faithful worker in the mathematical 
department. Having begun as a tutor, he soon rose to the professor- 
ship, and eventually had the instruction in natural history added to 
his cares. At his death Dr. Kemp's books were purchased by the col- 
lege, and made a valuable addition to the library. Dr. Bowden, who 
had bt?en appointed at the accession of President Moore, had for six- 
teen years ably filled the chair in moral philosophy, logic, rhetoric, 
and belles-lettres. To the vacancies caused by these two deaths were 
elected, respectively, Mr. Robert Adrian and the Rev. John McVicar. 

In February, 1820, Dr. Wilson, after a long and faithful service of 
the college in the professorship of the Greek and Latin languages, 
found himself obliged by increasing infirmities to resign his office, 
and the trustees in consideration of his "faithful and eminently use- 
ful services during eight and twenty years" granted him a liberal 
annuity for life. Mr. Nathaniel F. Moore, who had three years before 
been appointed adjunct professor, was elected to the chair, and Mr. 
Charles Anthon was appointed in his place as assistant. A further 
change in the staff of instruction was made by a division of the pro- 
fessorship of mathematics and natural philosophy into a professorship 
of mathematics and astronomy and a professorship of natural and 
experimental philosophy and chemistry. Of these the former was left 
to the charge of Dr. Adrian, who held it until 1825, when Henry J. 
Anderson, M. D., was elected upon the recommendation of the retir- 
ing professor. The latter was filled by the election of Mr. James 
Renwick, an alumnus of Columbia, and the college now for the first 
time saw most of her offices filled by her own alumni. Professors 
McVicar, Moore, Anthon, and Renwick having all been reared within 
her walls. 

In 1821 the requirements for admission were again raised a little, 
the most important addition being algebra, including simple equa- 
tions. The value of instruction depends more on the i)rofessor than 



COLUMBIA UNiVEKSITY. 149 

on the books used or the subjects studied, and with the divided chair 
the department of mathematics and natural philosophy- offered a very 
comprehensive course. The influence of the man was shown also in 
Dr. McVicai^'s department, for in spite of the multifarious duties 
imposed upon him he added intellectual philosophy and political 
economy to the senior course, doing the extra work for the love of the 
subjects and without additional recompense. He was in fact one of 
the first men in America to give instruction in the subject of political 
economy. 

Two years after this extension of the curriculum the Hon. James 
Kent was reappointed to the professorship in law, wliicli he had 
resigned a quarter of a century before after having held it five j^ears. 
The present appointment of this accomplished jurist gave rise to a 
course of lectures at the college which proved the germ of his learned 
Commentaries, and was consequently attended with results which, 
while they reflect honor on the college, are of inestimable value to the 
science of jurisprudence and to the whole legal profession. 

In the fall of 1829 President Harris died, after a term of office extend- 
ing over eighteen years during which he had witnessed many impor- 
tant changes both in the curriculum and in the personnel. A succes- 
sor to Dr. Harris was found in the person of Hon. William Alexander 
Duer, LL. D., judge of the supreme court, who was called to the pres- 
idency of the college during the following winter. President Duer 
was born in Rhinebeck, IST. Y., on the 8th of September, 1780. He 
was the son of William Duer, of Devonshire, England, and grandson 
of William Alexander, a claimant of the Scottish earldom of Stirling. 
In 1814 he was elected to the New York State assembly, and while 
a member of that body served as chairman of the committee on col- 
leges and academies. His service on this committee no doubt greatly 
increased his fitness for the position to which Columbia called him. 

LIBERALIZATION OF THE COURSE. 

Owing to the agitation of a plan for the establishment of a rival 
institution, the trustees made an effort to increase the usefulness 
of the college. They tried to render the benefits of education more 
generally accessible to the community by making extensive additions 
and modifications in the system of instruction. The cui-riculum in 
existence at the time was kept entire and was called the "full course," 
and in addition a " scientific and literary course" was established for 
the benefit of special students. The statutes adopted by the trustees 
in May, 1836, introduced several provisions by which both these 
courses were further enlarged, and the "literary and scientific 
course" in particular defined and materially extended with the view 
of rendering it a complete system of instruction for young men 
designed for civil or military engineers, architects, superintendents 
of manufactories of all kinds, or for mercantile or nautical pursuits. 



150 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

To carry out these plans the trustees appropriated $10,000 for the 
purchase of the requisite books and apparatus. 

The requirements for admission were that the student should have 
a grammatical knowledge of the French language and "the mathemat- 
ical and geographical knowedge required for admission into the fresh- 
man class " of the ' ' full course. " Besides the subjects formerly taught, 
instruction was now offered in the ''full course" in surveying, level- 
ing and navigation, elementary chemistry, heat, electricity, galvanism, 
magnetism, optics, practical astronomj^, nautical astronomy, miner- 
alogy, geology, calculus, mechanics, physical astronomy, principles of 
civil and military architecture, and civil engineering. Lectures were 
also given on constitutional jurisprudence and outlines of international 
law, and Dr. McVicar offered a course in the evidences of natural and 
revealed religion. There were also professorships in French, German, 
Italian, Spanish, and Hebrew. In the "literary and scientific course " 
practical work was offered in chemistry, examination and assay of 
earthy minerals, ores, and metals, the elements of perspective, the 
use of water colors, topographical drawing, drawing in civil archi- 
tecture, of machines and instruments used in the mechanic arts, of 
the structures used in inland navigation, of the carriages and engines 
employed on railroads, and in naval architecture. Chapter XIV of 
the statutes provided for a course of public lectures open to all per- 
sons who might choose to attend, the fees of admission to be fixed by 
the respective lecturers. At the same time a number of free scholar- 
ships were established and their patronage distributed among the 
important corporations, institutions, and religious denominations in 
the city, thus removing any foundations for the accusation of secta- 
rianism which had so often been thrust upon the institution. 

In May, 1842, President Duer, having long suffered from a painful 
illness, found himself obliged to offer his resignation. The trustees 
regretfully released him from his duties and he retired to private life 
at his country seat in Morristown, IST. J. The lectures on constitu- 
tional jurisprudence of the United States which he delivered during 
his administration were afterwards published and gained a consider- 
able reputation in their day. 

During the summer the vacancy was filled by the election of Nathan- 
iel F. Moore, LL. D. A graduate of Columbia in 1802, Dr. Moore 
had already served as professor of Greek and Latin, and later in the 
capacity of librarian, and was well acquainted with the needs and 
possibilities of the college. 

The scientific and literary course, which after a trial of thirteen years 
had proved unsuccessful, was abolished by the new statutes now drawn 
up, but the " full course" was further extended, and in fact included 
most of the subjects offered under the old regime. One important 
change in these statutes was the placing of the German language in 
the regular undergraduate course. 



■ 



COLUMBIA UNIVEESITY. 151 

By the generosity of Frederick Gebhard, esq., a chair was endowed 
under the title of "The Gebhard Professorship of the German Lan- 
guage and Literature." 

In December, 1844, Mr. J. W. S. Hows was appointed professor of 
elocution. Upon his retirement in 1857 instruction in this art ceased. 

In 1847 Chancellor Kent died. This was a severe loss not only to 
the college, but to the legal profession. Mr. William Betts, A. M. , 
an alumnus and a trustee of the college, was elected in his stead, 
and in the following winter delivered a course of lectures on interna- 
tional law. The law lectures, however, seem to have been intermit- 
tent; they led to no degree, and for a number of years prior to 1858 
there was no systematic instruction in law given in any public insti- 
tution in New York City. 

Administration of President King, 1849-1864. 

In July, 1849, Dr. Moore resigned the presidency. On the 7th of 
November of the same year Charles King, esq., was elected his suc- 
cessor. Dr. King was the second son of the Hon. Rufus King, who 
had for eighteen years served the college as a member of the board 
of trustees. He was educated at Harrow, England, and at Paris. In 
1813 he had been elected a member of the legislature of New York, 
and was engaged in the publication of a conservative newspaper, the 
New York American. From 1827 to 1845 he was the sole editor, 
but in that year he left the American to become associate editor 
of the Courier and Enquirer, which position he held until he was 
chosen to the presidency of the college, when he ' ' gave himself heartily 
to the duties of his new office, advancing the interests of the college 
in every way by his scholarship, energy, and wise management." 

In 1854 an order of emeritus professors was instituted for the pur- 
pose of appropriately acknowledging the services of those professors 
who had devoted themselves to the college for twenty years or more, 
and Dr. Renwick was made the first emeritus professor. "These 
gentlemen were to be without salaries or stated duties, but were to 
have certain privileges and honors, the principal of which were these : 
Each of them was to have the right of nominating to one free scholar- 
ship to be called by his name, of delivering an annual lecture in the 
college, and of sitting with the faculty on public occasions. His por- 
trait also was to be j)ainted at the expense of the college and hung in 
the library or in some proper room in the college buildings." 

THE REMOVAL OP THE COLLEGE. 

The rapid growth of the city and the falling in of the lease of the 
Botanic Garden directed the attention of the trustees, early in 1850, 
to the consideration of the disposition of that portion of their prop- 
erty. It had for many years brought in but a trifling revenue, wholly 
inadequate to meet even the expenses in which it had involved the 



152 HISTOEY OF HKIHER EDUCATIOlSr IN NEW YORK. 

college, and now it seemed about to make still more formidable 
demands upon lier resources for taxes, assessments, and the cost of 
regulating the lots. The whole subject of the disposition of this 
property was one of extreme delicacy and difficulty, and occupied 
the attention of the trustees for nearly two years, when it was finally 
leased. 

The college edifice was again becoming inadequate to the needs of 
the institution; a remodeling of the course had become necessarj^, 
and the best plans could not be carried out in the buildings as they 
were. They consisted of "dwelling houses for the president and 
three professors ; of a building occupied as the grammar school of the 
college, and of the chapel, library, and recitation rooms, the whole 
constituting the range of buildings in Park place between Church 
street and College place. Their value may be estimated according to 
their present use at $50,000, but the ground on which they stand may 
be estimated at 1500,000." ^ 

The noise of commerce was fast drawing in around the college, 
and attached as many were to the old situation, it became evident 
that they must move away from the halls which through years of 
labor they had learned to love. The new site was under considera- 
tion for a number of years, and it was not until 1857 that it was 
finally chosen and the college moved to the block between Forty- 
ninth and Fiftieth streets and Madison and Fourth avenues. The 
buildings on this block were those formerly occupied by the Asylum 
for the Deaf and Dumb and were chosen partially because they could 
be occupied immediately at comparativelj^ small expense.^ 

The cost of this property was $75,366.10,^ and in altering and refit- 
ting the buildings and regulating, grading, and fencing the grounds 
the college spent 138,969.91 more. Meanwhile they sold the old col- 
lege property for 1596,650, "and the college green is transformed 
into streets lined with costly warehouses." 

CURRICULUM IN" 1857. 

The college had now succeeded in finding new and comfortable 
quarters, and it remained to carry out the rest of the plan and re- 
arrange and liberalize the course. The committee which had been 
appointed in 1856 had the matter under consideration for several 
months. They personally investigated the methods used hy each pro- 
fessor and the results obtained, and studied the curricula in many 
other colleges. The report of the committee embodied a new scheme 
providing for a university course of study as follows : 

Lectures shall be delivered in the college, which shall be conducted in three dis- 
tinct schools. They shall be open to any person, under such regulations as the 
Trustees may from time to time prescribe. 

' Report of the Regents, 1857. 

- Regents' Report, 1858, contains a description of these buildings. 



COLUMBIA UNIVEBSITY. 153 

1. A school is established, called the School of Letters, in which shall he pur- 
sued the following studies: 

Moral and mental philosophy, including an analysis of the moral and intellec- 
tual powers, festhetics, or the principles of taste and art; the history of philosophy; 
appropriate literature of the Greeks and Romans; oriental and modern languages, 
as far as possible; comparative philology and ethnology. 

2. A school is established, called the School of Science, in which shall be pur- 
sued the following studies 

Mechanics and physics, astronomy, chemistry and mineralogy, geology and 
palipontology, engineering, mining and metallurgy, art of design; history of sci- 
ence, natural historj', physical geography. 

o. A school is established called the School of Jurisprudence, in which shall be 
pursued the following studies: 

History, political economy, political philosophy, the principles of national and 
international law civil and common law, the writings of the G-reeks and Romans, 
and of the modern civilians and jurists appropriate to the last three subjects. 

The conjunction of the above three schools shall form the university course. 

Any person who may enter either of the said schools may receive the degree of 
master of arts after having pursued for a space of time not less than two years, 
to the satisfaction of the Trustees and Faculty, such of the studies thereof and 
under such regulations as the Trustees may from time to time prescribe. 

There shall be fellowships, with or without stipends, to be filled by the Board of 
Trustees, upon such examination and upon such rules and regulations as may 
hereafter be prescribed.' 

These extensive plans serve to show that the aim of the college has 
always been toward the position of a liberal university, and, although 
they were not carried out in full, important changes in this direction 
were made. In the faculty of arts the board of instruction was aug- 
mented by the appointment of several new professors. Up to this 
time, under the comprehensive title of professor of moral philosophy, 
Dr. Mc Vicar had given instruction in the evidences of natural and 
revealed religion, ethics, intellectual philosophy, logic, i-hetoric and 
belles-lettres, and historical and political science. This work was now 
divided between three professors. The chair in evidences of natural 
and revealed religion was retained by Dr. McVicar. A chair in moral 
and intellectual philosophy and literature was filled by the election of 
Charles Murray Nairne, M. A. , L. H. D. Dr. Nairne was born at Perth, 
Scotland, on the 15th of April, 1808, graduated at St. Andrew's Uni- 
versity in 1830, and two years later received the degree of M. A. from 
the University of Edinburgh. He then became assistant to the cele- 
brated Dr. Chalmers, of Glasgow, a position which he held for a 
number of years. In 1847 he came to America, where his ability as 
director of a classical school attracted the attention of the trustees 
and led to his election. Subsequent events have proved that this 
choice was a wise one. 

No less important was the election of Francis Lieber, LL. D., to the 
third chair, that of history and political science. He was called from 
a similar chair in the University of South Carolina, where he had 

' Statutes. 



154 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATIOIsr IN NEW YORK. 

gained great distinction as a publicist. Born in Berlin on the IStli of 
March, 1800, he had early joined the Prussian army and fought as a 
volunteer at Ligny and Waterloo, receiving a severe Avound in the 
assault on Namur, which crippled him for life. Although arrested 
and imprisoned several times on suspicion of revolutionary senti- 
ments, he never gave up his studies, and finally in 1820 took his doc- 
tor's degree at Jena. He then attempted to continue his studies at 
Halle, but was so persecuted that he found it necessary to leave the 
country. He spent a year at Rome in the family of Niebuhr (then 
Prussian ambassador) as tutor to his son Marcus. Returning to Ber- 
lin on the assurance of the King that he should not be molested, he 
was again thrown into prison, and only escaped through the pressing 
solicitations of Niebuhr. Leaving his native land in 1825, he came to 
this country, and in 1835 was called to a professorship in the Univer- 
sity of South Carolina. It is here that the great works by which he 
is known were written — his Legal and Political Hermeneutics, his 
Political Ethics, and his Civil Liberty and Self Government. 

These works represent the first real transmission of German political philosophy 
to the New World, through the clarifying influence of English history and Amer- 
ican life. His was the first great original production of political science in 
America. ^ 

By the call of Dr. Lieber to Columbia, history and politics were 
recognized as coordinate sciences, a combination which was the his- 
torical corner stone of the school of political science since founded by 
Prof. John W. Burgess. 

Rather less prominent, but by no means less important, were the 
changes in the department of natural sciences. Professor McCuUoh 
confined his work to the physical sciences, and to the chair in chem- 
istry was elected Charles A. Joy, Ph. D. Professor Hackley took the 
chair in astronomy, and Charles Davies, LL. D., was made professor 
of mathematics, and to him was assigned, as an assistant, William G. 
Peck, A. M., with the title of adjunct professor. 

In the classical department no new instructors were added, but a 
more logical division was made, Professor Anthon devoting himself 
to Greek, while Dr. Drisler became professor of Latin. 

The university course was arranged practically as to-day, so that at 
the end of the junior year the student could take his choice between 
the lectures offered by the school of letters, the school of jurispru- 
dence, and the school of science ; and a post-graduate department was 
established corresponding to the present faculty of philosophy. From 
the regents' report we learn that during the year 1858 lectures were 

^ Study of History in American Colleges, by Dr. H. B. Adams. Circular of 
Information No. 2, Bureau of Education, 1887, p. C9. For interesting sketches of 
Dr. Lieber see this work and the History of Higher Education in South Carolina, 
by Dr. Colyer Meriwether, Circular of Information No. 3, Bureau of Education, 



COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. 155 

delivered in the university as follows: In the school of letters, by- 
Professor Lieber, on the history of commerce and political science; by 
Professor Nairne, on ethics and aesthetics; by the Hon. George P. 
Marsh, on the English language; by Professor Guyot, on comparative 
physical geography in its relations to history and modern civilization. 
In the school of jurisprudence, by Professor Dwight, on municipal 
law and kindred subjects. In the school of science, by Professor Mc- 
Culloh, on the mechanics of ethereal matter and the present state of 
knowledge in relation to heat, light, and electricity; by Professor Joy, 
on chemistry, with practical instruction in the laboratory; by Professor 
Peck, on civil engineering, including surveying and the use of instru- 
ments, general principles of construction, and graphics; by Professor 
Davies, on the higher mathematics and the nature and history of 
mathematical science; by Professor Hackley, on physical astronomy, 
with the practical use of instruments; by Prof essor Torrey, on botany. 
In speaking of the fate of these new courses, which were abandoned 
after the first year. Professor Van Amringe says: 

The time seemed not to be ripe for the proper support by the public of the 
scheme, and it was relinquished after one year's trial. The college, indeed, by no 
means abandoned its cherished plan of giving more than ordinary academic train- 
ing; but professional and scientific schools superseded that more liberal and 
extended course of teaching by which it had been hoped to inspire young men 
with an ardent and honorable love of learning and to qualify them for those 
higher and more arduous efforts of self-instruction which the college has ever 
regarded as the true aim and purpose of academic training. ^ 

FOUNDING OF THE LAW SCHOOL. 

From the remains of this experiment sprang the professional schools 
for which Columbia is to-day justly renowned. First among these 
was the school of law, under the able leadership of Theodore W. 
Dwight, A. M., who was appointed j)rof essor of municipal law on the 
17th of May, 1858. Six years later he was placed at the head of the 
department, with the title of warden of the law school. This position 
he held until 1891, and for his long and faithful service he justly 
received the respect of all who could see and appreciate what he had 
done.^ 

Professor Dwight, who has a reputation throughout the whole Union as the 
greatest living American teacher of law, has in substance founded and keeps 
alive simply by his own capacity as a teacher one of the best schools of law, in 
which one generation of pupils after another learns those elements of English 
law which, according to a certain number of good people, can not be taught from 
a professor's chair. 

This is what Prof. A. V. Dicey, of Oxford, said of Professor 
Dwight, and Prof. James Bryce in speaking of his course said: 

' Historical 'Sketch of Columbia College by J. H. Van Amringe. 
^Professor Dwight retired from the active duties of this chair in 1891 upon the 
reorganization of the law school. His death occurred a few years later. 



156 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

Better law teaching than Mr. Dwighfs it is hardly possible to imagine. It 
would be worth an English student's while to cross the Atlantic to attend his 
course. 

I.iectnres were delivered by Professor Dwight upon constitutional 
law and upon the history of the Roman law as supplementary to the 
general course of instruction upon municipal law. Instruction in con- 
stitutional law was given by Professor Lieber and in moral philosophy 
by Professor Nairne. John Ordronaux, M. D., LL. B., was made pro- 
fessor of medical jurisprudence, and courses of lectures were delivered 
by several distinguished legal gentlemen of New York, who liberally 
gave their services without remuneration. During the first year of 
its existence the exercises of the school were held in the rooms of the 
Historical Society on Eleventh street, but at the commencement of its 
second year it was moved to Lafayette place, directly opposite the 
Astor Library. Twenty to thirty lectures were delivered by Professor 
Lieber "on the state, embracing a view of the origin, development, 
objects, and history of political society; on the history of political 
literature; on political ethics, and on punishment, including its his- 
tory, statistics, and a view of the penal theories, systems, and codes 
of modern times." 

ADOPTION OF THE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS. 

On the 4th of June, 1860, the College of Physicians and Surgeons 
was by a resolution of the trustees adopted as the medical depart- 
ment of Columbia College. The College of Physicians and Surgeons 
had been incorporated by the legislature in 1807 and placed under the 
direct control of the regents of the University of the State of New 
York, which body, as has been seen, was originally intended to include 
all the higher educational establishments in the State. The medical 
department of Columbia College was merged into the College of 
Physicians and Surgeons in November, 1813, and as late as 1835 the 
university was the only recognized authority in the State for con- 
ferring medical degrees. Many medical schools existed, but every- 
thing connected with the courses of instruction, the examination of 
candidates, the selection of professors or lecturers or of new members 
of the boards of trustees, with other matters of incidental importance, 
required the ratification of the regents. After this time medical 
colleges began to be incorporated directly by the legislature and 
empowered to grant diplomas under the authority of their own 
trustees. The regents were, therefore, less solicitous for retaining a 
control which had so largely diminished in importance; and, on the 
other hand, the college no longer derived from its connection with 
the university the same prestige as before. Accordingly, the memo- 
rial of the trustees sent to the regents in 1859 was answered by an 
act of the legislature, passed March 24, 1860, amending the charter 
so as to give the college a system of self-government and the power 
to confei degrees. It was immediately after this that the union with 



COLUMBIA UNIVEESITY. 157 

Columbia was effected, and after a separation of nearly half a century 
Columbia's medical department was returned to her.^ 

Administration of President Barnard. 

At the stated meeting of the trustees in March, 1864, President 
Charles King, LL. D., tendered to the board his resignation to take 
effect at the next commencement, stating as his reason "advancing 
age and the necessity of repose." In accepting the resignation the 
following resolutions were passed by the trustees : 

Whereas the presidential term of Doctor King has been distinguished by the 
removal of Columbia College to its present superior site, by much development 
and expansion of its educational system . . . and a consequent augmentation 
of its importance and influence; and 

Whereas the bearing of the retiring president in his official relations with this 
board has been marked by courtesy and kindness, by frank, generous, elevated, 
and genial spirit, which engaged personal regard while it contributed to the pleas- 
antness of our intercourse: Therefore, 

Resolved, That the trustees . . . unite in tendering him a unanimous ex- 
pression of their respect and warm personal regard and of their grateful sense of 
the earnestness with which he has labored to promote the best interests of the 
institution under his charge. 

On the 18th day of May, 1864, the Rev, Frederick Augustus Porter 
Barnard, S. T. D., LL. D., some time chancellor of the University of 
Mississippi, was elected to the presidency. In his letter Dr. Barnard 
said: 

I accept the position with a deep sense of the honor done me . . . and with 
the hope that by an earnest devotion to the important duties which it Involves 1 
may be eo happy as in some degree to promote the interests of the institution 
and through it of the cause of education in the country. 

Dr. Barnard was graduated at Yale College in the class of 1828, 
and was a tutor in that college in the year 1830-31. He was elected 
a professor in the University of Alabama in 1837, where he remained 
seventeen years filling successively the chairs of mathematics and 
natural philosophy and of chemistry and natural history. In 1854 
he was chosen professor of mathematics and natural philosophy in 
the University of Mississippi, of which institution he became the 
president in 1856 and chancellor in 1861. 

At his inauguration President Barnard found the college provided 
with 10 professors, 1 adjunct professor and 1 tutor in the faculty of 
arts, 8 professors and 3 assistants in the medical school, 2 professors 
in the school of law, and 2 in the new faculty which had just been 
formed under the name of the school of mines. The total number of 
students in all the departments was 625. The library proper con- 
sisted of less than 15,000 volumes, while the law library contained only 
3,500. There were no elective courses, the scheme of 1857 having been 



' For an account of the medical school see History of the College of Physicians 
and Surgeons, by President John C. Dalton, M. D. New York, 



158 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

abolished after a few years' trial. German was the only modern lan- 
guage tanght and this was entirely voluntary. To appreciate the 
value of President Barnard's work it is only necessary to compare the 
state of the college at his inauguration with the condition in which 
he left it when death overtook him in 1889. 

At the very beginning of his administration the president met dis- 
couragement. The Rev. Dr. McVicar, who had so long been one of 
the main supports of the college, expressed his desire to withdraw 
from active service. Such a request from one who had been so faith- 
ful could not be refused, and the honor of an emeritus professorship 
was conferred upon the retiring professor. 

Dr. McVicar was born in New York City on the 10th of August, 
1787. He was the son of a leading merchant of that city and was of 
Scotch descent. He was graduated by Columbia in the class of 1804. 
Educated as a theologian he took orders in 1811 and for a time was 
settled over a parish in Hyde Park. At the age of 30 he gladly 
accepted a professorship under his alma mater and seized the oppor- 
tunity to follow the inclination of his youth. His surroundings and 
acquaintances had been such that he could not escape the great 
politico-economic problems of his day. It was not strange therefore 
that he increased his own labors for the sake of giving instruction in 
his favorite subject. His devotion to the political sciences, however, 
did not detract from his ability as a logician, theologian, and philos- 
opher, and the number and versatility of his works give evidence of 
untiring assiduity and a fertile mind. 

The retirement of Dr. McVicar was not the only trial which the new 
president had to encounter. From the beginning the trustees had 
had a constant struggle, and the finances of the college were now in a 
very discouraging condition. The endowment was small in compari- 
son with the amount of work necessitated by circumstances, and while 
the funds were scarcely sufficient to carry on the courses already laid 
out, it had become evident that there was public demand for a new 
professional school. 

FOUNDING OF THE SCHOOL OF MINES. 

Early in the year 1863 Mr. Thomas Egleston, a graduate of the 
Ecole des Mines of Paris, foreseeing the prominence which the United 
States was about to assume as a mineral-producing country, prepared 
a plan for the establishment of a school of mines and metallurgy in 
connection with the college. Realizing that Columbia was more advan- 
tageously situated than any other college in the country for such a 
school, the trustees very soon adopted this plan, and arrangements 
were made for the establishment of the school of mines. Mr. Egleston 
was made professor of mineralogy and metallurgy, and shortly after- 
wards Brig. Gen. Francis L. Vinton, also a graduate of the Ecole des 
Mines, was made professor of mining engineering. A few months 
later Dr. Charles F. Chandler, of Union College, was made professor of 



COLUMBIA UNIVEESITY. 159 

analj^tical and applied chemistry, and on the 15th of November, 1864, 
the school of mines was formally opened in the basement of the old 
college building on Fortj^-ninth street. Arrangements were made by 
which Professors Joy, Peck, Van Amringe, and Rood of the college 
faculty were to give instruction in the school. The prospectus said: 

The object of this school is to furnish to the student the means of acquiring a 
thorough scientific and practical knowledge of those branches of science which 
relate to mining and the working up of the mineral resources of this country and 
to supply to those engaged in mining and metallurgical operations persons com- 
petent to take charge of new or old works and conduct them on thoroughly scien- 
tific principles. 

Instruction is given in the following subjects: Inorganic chemistry, organic 
chemistry, analytical chemistry, assaying, mineralogy, geology, botany, paleon- 
tology, mathematics, mechanics, metallurgy, machines, mining, physics, machine 
drawing, and descriptive geometry. 

This was the first school of its kind in America, and its success was 
immediate and great. Twenty-five students entered it on the opening 
day, and the numbers reached forty-eight during the session. The 
first year, however, was one of great expense, and but for the personal 
efforts of President Barnard it would have become bankrupt during 
its first term. Encouraged by its evident popularity and usefulness 
and by the enthusiasm of the new president the trustees enlarged the 
accommodations of the school by appropriating $30,000 for a building 
with laboratories and drawing-rooms to accommodate 72 students. 
Eighty-nine, however, were admitted, and the rooms proved to be 
inadequate. At the close of the second year the success of the school 
being assured, the trustees determined to continue it in spite of their 
financial weakness. Accordingly, although it was necessary to go into 
debt to do so, $70,000 were voted for the construction of a new build- 
ing and the purchase of a complete equipment. From this time the 
school continued to grow in numbers and in usefulness. In 1866 a 
chair in geology and paleontology was created and filled hy the 
appointment of Dr. John S. Newberry, LL. 1). 

John Strong Newberry was born at Windsor, Conn., on the 22d of 
December, 1822. He was graduated at Western Reserve College and 
at Cleveland Medical College, and after studying abroad two years 
practiced medicine in Cleveland until May, 1855, when he was 
appointed assistant surgeon and geologist to the exploration party 
under Lieut. Robert S. Williamson. This party was sent to examine 
the countrj^ between San Francisco and the Columbia River. Later 
he accompanied Lieut. Joseph C. Ives in the exploration and naviga- 
tion of the Colorado River. His observations formed the most inter- 
esting material that was gathered by the expedition, and fully half 
of the report was written by him. In 1859 he explored parts of 
southern Colorado, Utah, northern Arizona, and New Mexico. He 
was elected a member of the United States Commission, although 
still on duty in the War Department, and his medical knowledge and 
experience in the Army made him an imj)ortant member of it. 



160 HISTORY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

After the war he was appointed to the professorship in the college. 
His abilities have since led to his appointment to many honorable 
offices. In 1869 he was made State geologist of Ohio, and the results 
of his work are published in nine volumes. He has since been asso- 
ciated with the work of the New Jersey Geological Survey, and 
reported on the fossil fishes and plants of the Trias and on the flora of 
the Amboy clays. In 1884 he was appointed paleontologist of the 
United States Geological Survey, and has prepared a monograph on 
the Paleozoic fishes of ISTorth America and on the fossil plants of the 
Cretaceous and Tertiary rocks of the far West. In January, 1888, 
the Geological Society of London conferred on him its Murchison 
medal. In 1863 he was named by Congress one of the corporate 
members of the National Academy of Sciences. He has been presi- 
dent of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 
the New York Academy of Sciences, and the Torrey Botanical Club. 
Besides the volumes that have been mentioned Dr. Newberry's sepa- 
rate papers contributed to various sources include upward of two 
hundred titles, chiefly in the department of geology and paleon- 
tology, but also in zoology and botany. 

Dr. Newberry brought with him to the college his magnificent 
mineralogical collection. This was augmented by a valuable dona- 
tion of minerals made by George T. Strong, and soon after by the 
gift from the Hon. Gouverneur Kemble of a larger similar collection. 

During the year 1867-68 the curriculum was enlarged so as to 
include four parallel courses of instruction: I. Mining engineering; 
II. Metallurgy; III. Geology and natural history; IV. Analytical 
and applied chemistry. The requirements for admission were some- 
what increased and a preparatory year added to enable those who 
were not fully qualified to prepare for the entrance examination. 
This preparatory year has since become the first year of the course, 
which now covers four years, while the school has become far more 
than its name implies, being virtually a university of applied sciences 
" more scientific than Freiburg, more practical than Paris. "^ Civil 
engineering was added in 1870, being taught at first by the professor 
of mining engineering, but in 1872 it was separated from that chair 
and made the fifth parallel course. 

In 1874 a still larger building was erected, at a cost of $150,000, and 
fitted up with everj^ convenience for this school. This was the first 
of the group of buildings planned b}^ Mr. C. C. Haight, a graduate of 
the college, who has made this block a prominent architectural f eatui^e 
of the city. 

The attention that Dr. Barnard was called upon to give to this 
school did not deter him from equal activity in the other departments. 

ijohn A. Church, E. M., Ph.D., in North American Review, January, 1871. 



COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. 161. 

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS. 

On the death of Dr. Hacklej^ in 1861, William G. Peck, professor 
of pure matliematics, had been transferred to thechair of mathematics 
and astronom3% and two years later Mr. J. Howard Van Amringe was 
promoted from the tutorship to the adjunct professorship. 

In 1865 Dr. Davies, the professor of higher mathematics, was retired 
as emeritus professor. Dr. Davies had gained great eminence in his 
profession. He was a graduate of West Point, where he was after- 
wards professor of mathematics. This position he was forced to resign 
on account of illness, but later held similar chairs in Trinity College, 
Hartford, and the University of New York. For five years he served 
as treasurer '^f the United States Military Academy. The professor- 
ship at Columbia, to which he was called in 1857, was the last that 
he held. On his resignation he retired to private life at Fishkill 
Landing, where he died on the 17th of September, 1876. His w^orks, 
which are distinguished by plainness and close logical arrangement, 
comprise an entire series of mathematical text-books, extending from 
a primary arithmetic to the higher mathematics, and including edi- 
tions of Legendre's Geometry and Bourdon's Algebra. Among his 
more advanced works are Descriptive Geometry; Surveying and Navi- 
gation; Shades, Shadows, and Perspective; Differential and Integral 
Calculus; Logic and Utility of Mathematics, and a Mathematical 
Dictionary, the latter written in conjunction with his son-in-law. 
Prof. William G. Peck. 

On the retirement of Dr. Davies the whole department was reorgan- 
ized under the leadership of Dr. Peck, who, graduating from the United 
States Militarj^ Academy at the head of his class, was assigned to the 
Corps of Topographical Engineers and served in the third expedition 
of John C. Fremont, in 1845. He was also with the army of the West, 
under Gen. Stephen W. Kearny, during the Mexican war. He was 
assistant i3rofessor of natural philosophy at West Point in 1846 and 
professor of mathematics from 1847 to 1855, when he resigned from 
the Army. He then became professor of physics and civil engi- 
neering in the University of Michigan, where he remained until 1857, 
when he came to Columbia. 

At the outbreak of the civil war Mr. McCuUoh was "expelled for 
having abandoned his post and joined the rebels," thus leaving 
vacant the chair in mechanics and physics. Dr. Peck took upon 
himself the duty of giving instruction in mechanics, and an able 
professor of physics was found in the person of Ogden N. Rood. Pro- 
fessor Rood was a graduate of Princeton, in the class of 1852. He 
began his scientific studies in the Sheffield School at Yale and con- 
tinued them at the universities of Munich and Berlin. Returning to 
this country, he was chosen professor of chemistry and physics at 
Troy Universitj^ where he remained nearly five years, being called 
3176 11 



162 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

from there to Columbia. Professor Rood has won great distinction 
for himself in his science. He was one of the first to apply photogra- 
phy to the microscope and to take binocular pictures with that instru- 
ment. His original investigations have been numerous, including 
special studies of questions in mechanics, optics, acoustics, and elec- 
tricity. His studies of the nature of the electric spark and the dura- 
tion of the flashes are particularly interesting, involving the deter- 
mination of more minute intervals of time than were ever before 
measured. In 1880 he devised a mercurial air pump giving an exhaus- 
tion of a degree that has never been attained by other pumps. The 
methods of photometry that he has originated and his investigations 
of the phenomena that depend on the physiology of vision are very 
ingenious, and he was the first to make quantitative experiments on 
color contrasts. He is a member of the American Association for the 
Advancement of Science and of the National Academy of Sciences, 
before which many of his most important memoirs were read. 

DEPARTMENT OF GREEK AND LATIN. 

The resTimption of the academic exercises in October (1867) found two impor- 
tant departments of instruction unofficered. The veteran professor of Greek, 
whose masterly scholarship and whose signal services to the cause of classical 
education had won him a reputation as wide as the republic of letters and madu 
him the pride of the institution with which he had been identified for nearly half 
a century, had passed away during the summer, and had descended to his rest 
full of years and full of honors.' 

Dr. Anthon was born in New York City on the 19th of November, 
1797. He was a Columbia man from the beginning, taking his first 
degree there in 1815. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 
1819, but in 1820 returned to the college in the capacity of adjunct 
professor of Greek and Latin. From that time to his death his con- 
nection with Columbia was never severed. He was a voluminous 
writer and an authority often sought. He pi^epared many text-books 
for colleges, edited an edition of Lempriere's Classical Dictionary, 
besides writing one himself, and published a dictionary of Greek and 
Latin Antiquities. 

Happily for the cause of classical learning in the college, a worthy successor 
to our lamented fellow laborer was found without the necessity of seeking beyond 
our own ranks. Dr. Drisler has already established for himself a solid reputation 
as a prof ound investigator of Greek philology, and his transfer to the vacant chair 
was a measure so obviously appropriate that it was effected without a dissenting 
voice. By this transfer the chair of Latin was thrown open, and this has since 
been filled by the election of Prof. Charles Short, late president of Kenyon College, 
a gentleman who had come to us recommended by the highest testimonials, and 
who, in discharging the duties of the office as professor ad interim for some 
months previous to his election, had proved himself eminently efficien t as an 
instructor and agreeable as an associate. ' 

'Report of President Barnard, June 1, 1886. 



COLUMBIA UNIVEESITY. 163 

THE ELECTIVE SYSTEM. 

These changes in the force of instruction imme'^iately led to the 
first step in the development which characterized President Barnard's 
administration. Up to this time the course of instruction had been 
confined mainly, as President Barnard said, " to studies called par 
eminence disciplinary," and distinguishing this as the "gymnasial 
period." Since 1855, it has been seen, numerous attempts were made 
to advance to the university stage, but they had been ahead of their 
time, and the real development began with the creation of the profes- 
sional schools and the parallel expansion of the arts course. 

In 1868 four books of Professor Davies's edition of Legendre's Geom- 
etry were added to the requirements for admission and thus a much 
greater amount of work in higher mathematics and allied subjects 
was made possible in the course. The establishment of the elective 
system followed closely upon this. 

At the end of their junior year the class of 1870 sent a i3etition to 
the faculty requesting them to arrange a system of elective studies so 
that during the senior year the individual student might to a certain 
extent be able to choose what subjects he would pursue. This, of 
course, it was not within the power of the faculty to grant, but they 
referred it to the trustees, and by the middle of the following year, 
with the aid of the students of that class, a provisional course had 
been arranged for an experiment. During the second term instruc- 
tion was conducted in accordance with this plan, which proved in a 
large degree successful. In the ensuing May a committee of the trus- 
tees was appointed to consider the expediency of extending and mak- 
ing permanent this more liberal system, and as a result the following 
arrangement was adopted : Of the fifteen hours a week occupied by the 
seniors in lectures and recitations, about half were spent on required 
subjects, and for the remainder the class was divided into sections 
according as the members desired to pursue higher classical, philo- 
sophical, mathematical, or scientific courses. 

POST-GRADUATE WORK. 

"The adoption of a liberal sj^stem of elective study of this descrip- 
tion prepares a college to rise naturally and easily to the higher level 
of post-graduate instruction,"^ says President Barnard, and this 
result, indeed, followed in Columbia. The first step was taken in 1878, 
when a provision was made for examinations for the degree of Master 
of Arts. The student was to pursue his studies outside of the college 
and could not be a candidate for examination until three years after 
graduation. No instruction was offered in the college for this degree, 
because it seemed impracticable for want of room and a sufficient corps 
of instructors. Before 1880, however, when the plan was to have gone 

^ President Barnard's Report, 1879. 



164 HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW TOEK. 

into effect, these difficulties had been overcome. During a few years 
a large number of instructors were added and an entire reorganization 
of the college took place. 

REORGANIZATION OP THE LAW SCHOOL. 

In the law school five distinct professorships were created — • 

I. The law of contracts, maritime and admiralty law. 

II. Real estate and equity jurisprudence. 

III. Criminal law, torts, and procedure. 

IV. Constitutional history and international and constitutional law 
and political science. 

V. Medical jurisprudence. 

The first of these was filled by the warden, Professor Dwight, the 
third by Mr. George Chase, who for four years had ably assisted Pro- 
fessor Dwight, the fifth by Professor Ordroneaux. To the second 
was elected the Hon. John F. Dillon, formerly judge of the United 
States circuit court in the eighth district, and to the fourth Prof. 
John W. Burgess. This professorship was a revival of the chair which 
had been created in 1865 when Dr. Lieber was transferred to this school 
and given the duty of delivering lectures on the State, embracing the 
origin, development, objects, and history of political societ,y, and the 
laws and usages of war, on the history of political literature and on 
political ethics. Dr. Lieber continued his connection with the law 
school until he was removed by death in 1872, giving lectures on these 
special subjects, "in which," says Professor Dwight, "he had gained 
great distinction for his learning, originality, and independence of 
thought, extensive research, and sound judgment." 

Professor Burgess was a graduate of Amherst College of the class 
of 1867. He had studied law two years, but through the recommenda- 
tion of President Seelye went to Knox College, Galesburg, 111., where 
he taught English literature and political economy from 1869 to 1871. 
He then went to Germany to study history and political science in 
Gottingen, Leipzig, and Berlin. In 1873 Professor Burgess was called 
to the newly established chair in history and political science in his 
alma mater, where he lectured with extraordinary success until 1876, 
when he was invited to the similar chair in Columbia. 

NEW PROFESSORS IN THE SCHOOL OF MINES. 

Professor Vinton having resigned the chair of civil and mining 
engineering, William P. Trowbridge, Ph. D., LL. D., was elected in his 
place. Dr. Trowbridge was a graduate of the United States Military 
Academy. Standing at the head of the class of 1848, he was promoted 
second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers and spent two years in 
the astronomical observatory preparing for coast-survey work. He 
was assigned to duty in the primary triangulation of the coast of 
Maine. In 1853 he was sent to the Pacific, where he was occupied 



COLUMBIA UNIVEESITY. 165 

three years conducting a series of tidal and magnetic observations 
along the coast from San Diego to Paget Sound. After serving one 
year as professor in the University of Michigan, he was again 
appointed on the coast survey and was engaged in preparing for pub- 
lication the results of the Gulf Stream exploration. In 1860 he went 
to Key West to superintend the erection of a self- registering magnetic 
observatory, and he prepared minute descriptions of the Southern 
coast for the use of the Navy. During the war he was in charge of 
the engineer office in New York City, where his duties included the 
supply of materials for fortifications and other defences and the con- 
struction and shipping of engineer equipage for armies in the field. 
He constructed the fort at Willets Point, and was in charge of the 
repairs at Fort Schuyler and of the works on Governors Island. In 
1865 he became vice-president of the Novelty Iron Works in New 
York City, with the direction of their shops. He was elected professor 
of dynamical engineering at the Sheffield Scientific School, remaining 
there from 1869 until he was called to Columbia. Dr. Trowbridge 
has held many honorable offices, both State and civic. He is a mem- 
ber of the National Academy of Sciences, the New York Academy of 
Sciences, and the American Association for the Advancement of 
Science. 

On his election the title of the chair was changed and he became 
professor of engineering. At the same time Henr}^ S. Munroe, E. M., 
Ph. D., was made adjunct professor of surveying and practical min- 
ing, and a few years later Frederick R. Hutton, A. M., E. M., C. E., 
Ph. D., was made adjunct professor of mechanical engineering. 
Besides professors, there were in this school a steadily increasing 
number of lecturers, instructors, and assistants. 

CHANGES IN THE SCHOOL OP ARTS. 

Prior to 1876 the only assistants in the school of arts were in the 
classical department and in the department of English — in the for- 
mer Dr. A. C. Merriam, tutor in both Greek and Latin; in the latter, 
Dr. John D. Quackenboss, now adjunct professor in the same depart- 
ment. This force was now increased by the appointment of a tutor 
in Latin, Dr. Sydney G. Ashmore, and a tutor in mathematics, Mr. 
Frank Drisler. This was followed by the appointment of Mr. Rich- 
mond Mayo Smith, of Amherst, as adjunct professor of history and 
political science, to share the labors of Professor Burgess ; and of Dr. 
Archibald Alexander as adjunct professor of moral and intellectual 
philosophy. During the year 1879-80 additional tutors were appointed 
in Anglo-Saxon, French, German, Greek, Latin, and mathematics. 
Finally, in anticipation of the increased work, the aged and distin- 
guished Dr. Henry I. Schmidt was honorably retired to the rank of 
emeritus professor. To his chair was elected Mr. Charles Sprague 
Smith, who afterwards, with the aid of Dr. Hjalmar Hjortli Boyesen, 
so thoroughly organized the department of modern languages. 



166 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

The first and most important obstacle to the founding of post- 
graduate courses having been overcome by this reorganization, the 
other disappeared on the completion of Hamilton Hall, a fully equipped 
building with a frontage of 200 feet on Madison avenue and a depth 
of about 60 feet on both Forty-ninth and Fiftieth streets, erected, at 
a cost of over $200,000, for the accommodation of the school of arts. 

DEVELOPMENT OF THE POST-GRADUATE SCHEME. 

In accordance with a resolution of the trustees, dated June 7, 1880, 
a scheme of instruction w^as draw^n up to go into effect the following 
fall. This course was open to all bachelors of arts, of science, and 
of philosophy of this or of any other college of equal standing, and 
the degree of master of arts was conferred at its completion. The 
scheme provided for three hours a week each in Greek, Latin, mathe- 
matics, and history ; four hours in astronomy, two practical and two 
theoretical; two hours each in physics, chemistry, philosophy, English 
literature, jpolitical econom}^, Anglo-Saxon, and Sanskrit, and one 
hour each in Italian and Spanish literature, besides which the following 
lecture courses in the school of mines were open to members of this 
department: Chemistry, general, theoretic, and applied; botany, 
zoology, geology, paleontology, mineralogj", and crystallography. 

This system was capable of indefinite expansion and within one 
decade resulted in the thorough establishment of the university, to 
which President Barnard had so long looked forward. 

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SCHOOL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE. 

The first university faculty was created on the 7th of June, 1880, 
when it was resolved "that there be established a school, designed to 
prepare young men for the duties of public life, to be entitled a School 
of Political Science, having a definitely prescribed curriculum of study 
extending over a period of three years and embracing the history of 
philosophy, the history of the literature of the political sciences, the 
general constitutional history of England and the United States, the 
Roman law and the jurisprudence of existing codes derived therefrom, 
the comparative constitutional law of European states and of the 
United States and of different States of the American Union, the 
history of diplomacy, international law, systems of administration. 
State and national, of the United States and comparison with European 
systems; political economy and statistics. 

In speaking of the study of the political sciences in 1882, Professor 
Burgess said: 

During tHe last half decade an awakening of interest in the study of the polit 
ical sciences has manifested itself throughout the public at large, such as no pre- 
vious generation since the beginning of our national existence has experienced. 
The conviction is now already deep and general that, unless a sounder political 
wisdom and a better political practice be attained, the republican system laay 
become but a form and republican institutions but a deception. It is then hardly 



COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. 167 

a question any more whether we need a higher political education. The common 
consciousness of the nation is already beyond that point, and is now occupied with 
the invention of the means and methods of its realization. Of course, chief among 
these means should stand our institutions of superior learning— our colleges and 
universities. 

This "liigher political education" is what Columbia aimed at giv- 
ing her students in the foundation of the school of political science. 

The whole structure of the course is built. upon an historical foun- 
dation. ' ' Theory and speculation in politics, " says Professor Burgess, 
"must be regulated by historic fact." To this intent the student 
desiring admission is required to have completed the junior yesir in 
the school of arts or some other college of equal standing. 

In this arrangement Columbia for the first time recognized the dis- 
tinction between gymnasial and university work. Up to the close of 
the third year the courses in the school of arts are of a purely gym- 
nasial character. University work begins with the senior year, and it 
is here that the elective system enables a student to select the subject 
in which he will continue his education. It is on this principle that 
the school of political science is open only to seniors. 

A glance at the curriculum will show that the historical work does 
not stop with the end of the gymnasial course, but becomes rather a 
study of "the history of institutions, the origin and development of 
the State through its several phases of political organization down to 
the modern constitutional form. " The student then advances through 
' ' history to the existing, actual, and legal relations of the State, . . . 
and finally through comprehensive comparison to generalize the ulti- 
mate principles of our political philosophy, aiming thus to escape the 
dangers of a barren empiricism on the one side and of a baseless spec- 
ulation on the other." 

At the close of the first year is conferred the degree of bachelor of 
philosophy, which does not difEer in character from the degree of bach- 
elor of arts, and thus places the recipient on an equal plane with the 
student who has completed the fourth year in the school of arts. The 
final degree is given two years after the first, and to obtain this is a 
much more difficult matter. The requirements are threefold: 

First, a direct oral examination of each candidate upon any or all of the courses 
pursued in the presence of the entire faculty and by each member of the same; 
second, collateral examinations upon Latin, German, and French languages, and 
third, the examination of an original dissertation prepared by the candidate upon 
a subject either assigned to him by the faculty of the school or selected by himself 
imder their approval at least six months before the date of the examination. The 
candidate must furnish each member of the faculty with a copy of his dissertation 
at least one month before the date of the examination, and, at the time fixed, must 
appear before the assembled faculty of the school and defend his fact, his reason- 
ing, and his conclusions against the criticism of each member of the same. 

The successful candidate receives the degree of doctor of philoso- 
phy, or the degree cum laude, or magna cum laude, according to his 
ability. 



168 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

The school of political science was opened on the 4th of October, 
1880. 

Its faculty edits The Political Science Quarterly, the first periodical 
of its kind published in this country. 

Connected with the school is an academy of political science, a 
voluntary association of the graduates of the school, formed to carry 
on the studies which have been begun. Meetings are held at frequent 
intervals, at which papers are read and discussed. From the academy 
a lecturer is chosen each year to serve three years in the school, and 
thus the faculty is recruited and 3^oung thought and strength brought 
into it. Throughout the course the work in every department is of 
the highest character, comparing favorably with the best European 
schools. 

EXPANSION OF THE SYSTEM. 

Numerous and frequent changes in the elective system in the school 
of arts followed the opening of the school of political science, but the 
principle in both undergraduate and university work has remained 
the same. In the y6ar 1883-84, history and the English language were 
the only obligatory studies in either the junior or senior years. This 
expansion proving too comprehensive, it was followed by a slight 
reaction, and has since been more gradual and logical. 

The personnel of the college has altered very rapidly. Professor 
Nairne retired, receiving the title emeritus, and his chair was divided. 
Prof. Thomas R. Price was elected to the professorship of the Eng- 
lish language and literature, while Dr. Archibald Alexander was pro- 
moted to the professorship of philosophy, ethics, and psychology. 

The department of chemistry was enlarged and strengthened by 
the appointment of Profs. Pierre De Peyster Kicketts and Elwyn 
Waller to the chairs of assaying and analytical chemistry, and in this 
and the other departments of the school of mines a large number of 
instructors, assistants, and tutorial fellows were added. 

In 1884 the Hon. Maj. John S. Billings, M.D., assistant surgeon- 
general of the United States, was appointed lecturer in sanitary engi- 
neering and hygiene. The lectures which this eminent X3liysician 
delivered during the following three or four years formed the basis 
of the school of sanitary engineering, a department which has grown 
rapidly in the public favor. 

Another very popular school, that of architecture, originated in 
1881, when a chair in that subject was founded in the school of mines. 
To this professorship was called William R. Ware, B. S., a graduate 
of Harvard and of the Lawrence Scientific School, and sometime pro- 
fessor of architecture in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 
Through the efforts of Professor Ware this branch of study has been 
greatly developed. Architecture has been made the sixth separate 
department, a number of instructors and assistants have been 



COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. 169 

appointed, and a valuable collection of architectural periodicals, 
drawings, and photographs has been made. 

During this same year the course in astronomy was considerably 
extended. Mr. John Krom Rees, A. M., E. M., was appointed director 
of the observatory and professor of geodesy and practical astronomy. 
Ver}^ valuable instruction in the use of the instruments has been added 
since the completion of the new observatory. 

A new librarj^ building was completed and occupied in 1883, at a cost 
of $400,000. It was situated on Forty-ninth street about the middle 
of the block, and was the most imposing feature of the beautiful group. 
On the first floor were arranged two commodious lecture rooms, with 
the necessary studies and offices for the law school. The remainder 
of the building was devoted to the library, and the whole surmounted 
by an astronomical observatory. 

The new observatory contained a set of portable astronomical instru- 
ments, a 46-inch transit, by Troughton & Simms; a combined transit 
and zenith instrument for time and latitude determinations; an equa- 
toriallj^ mounted refractor of 5 inches aperture, to which was attached 
a spectroscope with the dispersive power of 12 flint-glass prisms of 55 
degrees, by Alvin Clark; also a diffraction spectroscope with grating 
by L. M. Rutherfurd, esq. A set of comparison apparatus, with elec- 
trodes, Plticher's tubes, coils, etc., accompanied the spectroscope. 
Several valuable additions have lately been made to the observatory 
equipment. 

REMOVAL OF THE LAW SCHOOL. 

In 1883 the law school was moved to new quarters on the college 
block. It had been feared that removal to such a distance from the 
city courts would cripple the usefulness of the school, but this fear 
has proved groundless. The school has increased steadily in numbers 
and efficiency. There have been established three prize tutorships of 
the annual value of $500 each. The first of these was awarded in 1883, 
and one has been awarded each year since, thus supplying the school 
with three fellow assistants. 

At the time of President Barnard's death the number of students in 
this school had reached 477, and on the 7th of May, 1888, the follow- 
ing important resolution was passed by the trustees : 

Resolved, That from the commencement of the scholastic year of 1888-89 the 
degree of bachelor of laws shall he conferred only upon students, hereafter matric- 
ulating for the first time, who shall have pursued a three-years' course. 

Several times propositions had been made to confer ui3on graduates 
of the law school the higher degree of master of laws. Various plans 
were suggested for requiring one or two years of additional study or 
for conferring it only on bachelors of law who were already bachelors 
of arts. It was, however, very forcibly argued by President Barnard 
that the bachelor's degree was too easily obtainable, and that the offer- 
ing of a higher degree would only increase an already existing evil. 



170 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

For a number of years no examinations were required for entrance to 
the law school, and even after their introduction they remained very 
insignificant, the result being, as President Barnard said, that num- 
bers of men going through the law school without proper preliminary 
training "go to swell the already great and constantly growing num- 
ber of uneducated lawyers." It should be the object of a great uni- 
versity not so much to make "lawj^ers" as to make men "learned in 
the law." 

Two new professorships were created and able men were elected to 
do the additional work. 

THE LIBRARY. 

The university library, which was directly over the law school, was 
so situated as to be easy of access from any portion of the college. 
Approaching from either side by a flight of stone steps one entered a 
rectangular room 36 by 50 feet, flanked by stacks for books and 
broken in height by two tiers of galleries. This room contained the 
loan desk and "opens into the reading room by means of a pointed 
arch so wide and lofty that the two form indeed but a single great 
apartment, the arch coming toward the end of one of the longer sides 
of the reading room. This is lighted by large windows above, and 
small ones, rather widely spaced, below, thus affording the best illumi- 
nation while avoiding the shut up feeling that comes when all the 
openings are above the level -of the eye. The ceiling is a barrel vault 
supported on either side by a semivault of similar section. * * * 
The finish here as in other parts of the building is of brick slightly 
glazed as to surface. The color is pale yellow diversified by bands of 
dull red, applied in no strictly symmetrical way but with a skill which 
at once emphasizes dimensions and gives a desirable accent of freedom 
and variety." 

The arch was the important feature of the room. 

Its beauty of form and great size (34 by 36 feet) give dignity and distinction to 
the whole composition, and turns what might have been a merely excellent into 
an extremely imposing apartment.' 

The completion of this room made possible what had for many 
years been desired, namely, the uniting of the libraries of the different 
schools. The duty of arranging and cataloguing the 50,000 volumes, 
which up to this time had been scattered in nine different rooms, was 
intrusted to Mr. Melvil Dewey, of the Boston Library Bureau. The 
books were minutely classified and placed on shelves, to which the 
students had immediate access, and the library was open from 8.30 
a. m. until 10 p. m. every dsij in the year except Sunday, Good Fri- 
day, Independence day. Thanksgiving, and Christmas. These privi- 
leges, extended in but few public libraries, were thoroughly appre- 

' Recent Architecture in America, by M. G. Van Rensselaer, Century Magazine, 
1884, p. 67. 



COLUMBIA UNIVEBSITY. I7l 

dated by the students, and the library is in constant use. The 
number of books has grown until it is considerably over 100,000, and 
is increasing at the rate of a thousand a month. It is surpassed in 
numbers by but two university libraries in America. Books are 
loaned only to officers, students, and alumni, but any respectable 
person is free to use the library for scholarly purposes. In his inau- 
gural address President Low said : 

There is no library in the city, I venture to think there is none in the country, 
where the student is more welcome, where the facilities granted him are so great. 
No part of the college system is more liberally supported or more generously 
dealt with, for it is recognized to be a laboratory of all the departments of the 
college. 

Besides what may be 'spoken of as the general library, there is a 
special library of political science, intended to include the most recent 
and most valuable European and American works, particular atten- 
tion being given to providing the material needed for original inves- 
tigation. The department of history and political science alone con- 
tains 18,000 volumes. 

The law library, of about 10,000 volumes, contains a complete series 
of the reports and statutes of the United States and of New York; 
full sets of the repprts of nearly all the other States, with statutes 
and digests; a full series of the English and Irish reports from the 
yearbooks to the present time, with the English and Irish statutes and 
digests; the leading treatises on English and American private law; 
the beat editions of the Roman civil law and the leading commentaries 
on it, both ancient and modern, and the codes, legislative acts, and 
special treatises on the law of Germany, France, Italy, and other 
nations, including the South American States. It includes the origi- 
nal law library of William- Samuel Johnson, the first president of 
Columbia College after the Revolution, and one of the framers of the 
Constitution of the United States; also the law library of John Jay, 
the first Chief Justice of the United States, and is especially rich in 
international, constitutional, and administrative law. 

The library also contains, in pure and applied science, an unusually 
fine collection of periodicals and serials, including complete sets of 
nearly all the important English, French, and German journals in 
chemistry, chemical technology, mining, metallurgy, engineering in 
its various branches, electric science, jphotography, public hygiene, 
pure mathematics, astronomy, geology, botany, and kindred sciences. 
The number of current periodicals and serials taken is more than 800, 
and the funds at the disposal of the library for the purchase of books 
enable the officers of instruction in the various departments to put 
into the library the latest treatises and monographs on their respec- 
tive subjects. 

Besides the library, the property of the college, the students have 
also access to the library of the New York Academy of Sciences. 



172 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATIOlsr IN NEW YORK, 

This collection consists of about 6,000 volumes, largely made up of 
the proceedings of learned societies of America and Europe, and is 
deposited in the library. 

THE HERBARIA. 

The president's report for 1869 contains a description of the herba- 
rium, as it existed at that time, written by Dr. Torrey, by whom the 
larger portion of it was presented to the college : 

The collection is peculiarly rich in what are called type specimens, being the 
identical plants named by the authors who have described or noticed them in their 
published works. The college herbarium is the standard for many works on 
North American botany, such as The Flora of the Northern and Middle States; 
The Flora of North America, by Torrey and G-ray: The Flora of the State of New 
York; nearly all of Dr. Gray"s works and those of Engelmann, Sullivant, Tucker- 
man, Chapman, and many others. 

The botanical collections of nearly all the United States Pacific railroad surveys 
were made the subject of special reports, which were published by order of Con- 
gress; and the typ§ specimens, with few exceptions, are in our herbarium. So 
are those extensive collections made by the Government botanists in the five or 
six years occupied in the Mexican boundary survey. Full sets of the plants were 
reserved for reference. We have also an extensive collection of plants from the 
United States North Pacific exploring exjiedition, under Commodores Rodgers 
and Ringgold, and many from Commodore Perry's Japan expedition. 

All the plants obtained by Fremont in his explorations are preserved in the 
college herbarium. We have nearly every plant described in the valuable botany 
of the States north of Virginia and west to the Mississippi, by Dr. Gray; and of 
Dr. Chapman's Southern Flora, identified by the authors themselves. 

Of California plants we have very full collections, and in a fine state of preser- 
vation. The Rocky Mountains, Utah, and Colorado are well represented oy what 
we have received from most of the explorers of those regions. Indeed we have 
been so fortunate as to have received sets of plants from nearly all the botanists 
who have visited or surveyed the remote parts of North America, even beyond the 
Arctic circle. Many of these were received through the kindness of Sir William 
Hooker, to whose charge were committed, by the British Government, the various 
collections made in the Hiidson Bay regions to the Pacific coast. His extensive 
Flora of British America was founded on these collections, and the author of that 
splendid work shared them liberally with us. We have also many plants from 
Alaska, some of them received before we purchased that Territory. 

The botany of the Southwestern States is well represented in the college herba- 
rium. ... 

Of foreign plants we have vast numbers, embracing almost a complete flora of 
Europe, named by distinguished botanists, with a good number from Africa, 
especially those of the Cape of Good Hope, many of them types of what are 
described in the Cape Flora of Harvey and Sender, recently published by the Brit- 
ish Government. 

In East India botany we are rich, having received liberally of the plants col- 
lected under the auspices of the British Government. China has furnished us 
with many rare species, and we have lately been very largely supplied with choice 
Japan plants from the botanists of the Imperial botanic garden of St. Petersburg. 
A special interest is felt in the botany of Japan, sini e it has been shown that its 
flora is so nearly related to that of North America, and the specimens received 
from St. Petersburg are all originals of a late flora of Japan.' 



'Report of President Barnard to the trustees, 1869. 




-First-Floor- 

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY— THE LIBRARY. 




• Third -Floor ' 

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY— THE LIBRARY. 



COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. 173 

In 1874 the very extensive collection of the late Professor Meisner, of Basle, 
Switzerland, especially rich in South American, Asiatic, and Australian species, 
and supplementing the Torrey herbarium to a remarkable degree, together with 
the herbarium of Dr. A. W. Chapman, of Florida, containing nearly all the species 
described in the Flora of the Southern United States, were purchased by Mr. John 
J. Crooke, of New York, and presented to the college. 

The personal bryological collection of the late Mr. C. F. Austin, containing all 
of Austin's types of mosses and some of his Hepaticse, has since been purchased.' 

Dr. N. L. Britton, adjunct professor of botany, has been active in 
the development of this department. 

Besides many papers, monographs, and scientific sketches, he has 
published a Catalogue of the Flora of Richmond County, Staten Island 
(1879), The Geology of Staten Island (1880), Preliminary Catalogue of 
the Flora of New Jersey (1882), Catalogue of Plants found in New 
Jersey (1889). 

On the completion of the new library building the trustees voted 
that the herbarium should be considered a part of the botanical library 
and should be kept in one of the rooms of the new building. 

The botanical library is placed around the walls of the room; it comprises about 
2,000 bound volumes and an equal number of pamphlets, and is rapidly increasing 
in bulk. ' 

CABINETS AND COLLECTIONS. 

In addition to the herbaria the college has equally valuable collec- 
tions of specimens and models illustrating all the other subjects taught 
in the school of mines. 

The lectures on crystallography are illustrated by a collection of 150 
models in glass, which show the axes of the crystals and the relation 
of the derived to the primitive form. This suite is completed by 400 
models in wood showing most of the actual and theoretical forms, 
and also by a collection of natural crystals showing the forms as they 
actually occur in the prominent mineral species. 

The cabinet of minerals comprises about 30,000 specimens, arranged 
in cases. It includes a large suite of pseudomorphs, a collection illus- 
trating the physical characters of minerals, and a collection illustrating 
crystallography by natural crystals, showing both their normal and 
distorted forms. The minerals are accompanied by a large collection 
of models in wood showing the crystalline form of each. Arranged 
in wall cases are large specimens showing the association of the min- 
erals. There are also three separate student collections of average 
specimens, amounting in the aggregate to over 6,000. 

A very complete collection of metallurgical products, illustrating 
the different stages of the type process in the extraction of each metal 
in this country and in Europe, is accessible to the students, and the 
collection is constantly increasing. An extensive collection of models 

'Columbia College Herbaria, by Dr. N. L. Britton, Botanical Grazette,Vol. XII, 
No. 1. 



174 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATIOlsr IN NEW YORK. 

of furnaces has been imported, and a very large number of working 
drawings of furnaces and machines used in the different processes. 

Applied chemistry is illustrated by several thousand specimens of 
materials and products, arranged in a cabinet of industrial chemistry 
for exhibition at the lectures and for inspection by the students. 

The geological collection consists of over 100,000 specimens, to which 
additions are constantly being made. 

The departments of civil engineering, mechanical engineering, and 
mining engineering are fully illustrated by collections of appropriate 
models. 

THE VANDERBILT GIFTS. 

Soon after the completion of the new library and law school build- 
ing the munificent gift of the late William H. Vanderbilt placed the 
college in possession of buildings for its medical department superior 
to any in this country. Mr. Vanderbilt presented to the college twenty- 
nine lots of land on Fifty-ninth street. Tenth avenue, and Sixtieth 
street for the erection thereon from time to time of suitable buildings 
for instruction in the science of medicine. These lots were valued at 
$200,000, and to this gift he added $300,000 in money as a building fund. 
This princely and very opportune gift provided the school with build- 
ings thoroughly equipped in the very best manner. 

The generous benefactor lived but a short time after this, and on his 
death a hospital was built on the college grounds, by a gift from his four 
sons, as a memorial of their father. This is known as the Vanderbilt 
Clinic, and contains a fully equipped dispensary. At the same time a 
second hospital was built upon this block by one of the Vanderbilt 
family. Mr. William D. Sloane presented to the college $200,000, with 
which the Sloane Maternity Hospital was built. This contains 39 beds, 
all of which are free, having been endowed by Mrs. Sloane, a daughter 
of the late Mr. Vanderbilt. This hospital is also under the imme- 
diate supervision of the college professors, and a corps of 6 students 
from the graduating class are on duty each week in the term. Includ- 
ing the land, the three buildings, the equipment, and the endowment 
of the beds in the maternity hospital, over $1,000,000 has been ex- 
pended by this family for the benefit of the medical profession. But 
the science of medicine does not receive the only benefit from this 
generosity. During the year 1889 over 102,000 persons were treated 
in the Vanderbilt Clinic. 

The completion of these new quarters encouraged the faculty of 
medicine to take some important steps in the direction of increased 
usefulness. In 1880 the duration of the annual session had been 
extended from five months to seven. There was a large increase in 
the number of students in the following year. It is also encouraging 
to note that the majority of the students chose of their own accord 
to spend three years in the school instead of finishing as was possi- 



COLUMBIA UmVEESITY. 175 

ble, in two. This action was encouraged by raising the standard of 
examinations and making it possible for a student to pass final exami- 
nations in certain of his subjects at the end of his second year. The 
result was the establishment in 1887 of a graded course covering a 
period of three years, thus making it possible to offer much more 
detailed and thorough instruction.^ 

The next step was the requiring of examinations for admission to 
the course. This had long been considered a desirable measure in 
the interest of the profession. The college adopted a schedule of 
entrance examinations, making it prerequisite to matriculation that 
the student should show a fair proficiency in the English and Latin 
languages, arithmetic, algebra, and geometry, such as is usually de- 
manded for entrance in advanced literary colleges. The immediate 
effect of this was to greatly decrease the number of students, but it 
has placed the college on a much higher level. 

DEATH OF DR. SHORT. 

A very sad loss occurred in the latter part of President Barnard's 
administration in the unexpected death of the eminent Latin professor, 
Dr. Short, who died on the 24th of December, 1886. " Dr. Short," 
says the Rev. Talbot W. Chambers, "was remarkable as a painstaking 
scholar, who would have contributed more to classical literature but 
for his reluctance to let anything pass from his pen till he had ex- 
pended his ability upon it." Graduated at Harvard in 1846, he spent 
Ms entire life as an educator, a portion of it in the presidency of 
Kenyon College, Ohio. Three years after his call to Columbia he was 
appointed a member of the American committee for the revision of 
the New Testament, and subsequently became secretary of that body. 
He was a member of many learned societies, to which he contributed 
papers of much originality. His work includes revisions of Schmitz 
and Zumpt's Advanced Latin Exercises and Mitchell's Ancient Geogra- 
phy. He wrote an essay on the order of words in Attic-Greek prose, 
which is prefixed to Young's English-Greek Lexicon, and is the most 
exhaustive treatise that has been written upon the subject. He also 
edited, in conjunction with Dr. Carlton T. Lewis, a new edition of 
Andrew's Freund's Latin Lexicon. Dr. Short was an active Christian 
and a good churchman. For a number of years he was a vestryman 
of St. Thomas Church, where a tablet has been placed to his memory. 

The chair in the Latin language and literature left vacant by the 
demise of Dr. Short was subsequently filled by the election of an 
alumnus of the college, Dr. Harry Thurston Peck, a young man of 
marked ability, who had shown himself eminently fitted for the 
responsible position intrusted to him. 

' The course has since been extended to four years, the length of time now 
required in all reputable schools . 



176 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

RESIGNATION OF PRESIDENT BARNARD. 

In June, 1888, President Barnard, admonislied by a severe sickness 
that liis increasing age would soon necessitate his retirement from 
active life, offered his resignation of the presidency. The board of 
trustees sought by passing a series of resolutions to express their 
sympathj^ in the impaired condition of their leader's health and their 
sincere and deep regret of the action made necessary by it. It was 
resolved — 

That this board attest with pride and pleasure the widespread fame of the dis- 
tinguished head of the college and share in the general admiration for his extraor- 
dinary attainments, his ability as an educator, and the modest simplicity and dig- 
nity which have uniformly characterized his manners and life. 

Resolved, That President Barnard be granted a leave of absence for one year 
from date or until the election and installation of his successor. 

Resolved, That when the time comes to install his successor the board confer 
on the retiring president the rank and title of president emeritus and that his sal- 
ary be continued during the remainder of his life. 

Dr. Drisler was requested to undertake the duties of the presidency 
and it was hoped that Dr. Barnard would live to complete his twenty- 
fifth year in office, but in the spring of 1889 he passed to his eternal 
rest. 

What the college was when President Barnard was called to it in 
1864 has been seen; his last report shows it to have been a university 
consisting of the college proper, the nucleus, called the school of arts, 
with its graduate department and four associated schools, the medical 
school, the law school, tlie school of political science, and the school of 
applied sciences, called the school of mines. This latter was divided 
into seven departments each of which was practically a school by 
itself — a school of mining engineering, a school of civil engineering, a 
school of metallurgy, a school of geology and paleontology, a school 
of analytical and applied chemistry, a school of architecture, and a 
school of sanitary engineering. 

The school of arts offered an extensive elective system, the grad- 
uate department, together with the school of political science, offered 
almost all the advantages given under the faculty of philosophy in 
foreign universities, while the professional and scientific schools had 
attained a degree of excellence unsurpassed in this country. 

There were in the college 1,863 students, of whom 51 were matricu- 
lated in two or more schools. Four hundred and fifteen degrees were 
given in President Barnard's last year, 28 in the school of political 
science, 56 in the school of mines, 106 in the school of medicine, 110 
in the school of law, and 115 in the school of arts. ^ The corps of 
instructors consisted of 45 professors, 12 adjunct professors, 10 lec- 
turers, 16 instructors, 6 tutors, 76 assistants, and 36 fellows. 

' This number includes honorary degrees conferred at the centennial celebration. 



COLUMBIA UNIVEESITY. 177 

ADMINISTRATION OP DR. DRISLER. 

Nothing- of great importance to history could be done while the col- 
lege was without a head, but Acting President Drisler won a place 
for himself in the hearts of all Columbia men by the faithful care he 
took of the welfare of the college, and the work of his successor was 
made lighter b}^ the fact that no backward steps were taken. It was 
owing to his faithfulness, indeed, that the trustees were able to give 
such deliberate attention to the selection of a new president. Their 
appreciation of his services was evinced by their action on the 10th 
of February, 1890, when it was — 

Resolved, That in the administration of Prof. Henry Drisler, LL. D., as acting 
president of Columbia College, an office for which he was admirably equipped by 
his sense of its responsibility and by exalted personal character, as well as by pro- 
found learning and sound judgment, and an experience of nearly fifty years of 
service in the coliege as an officer of the institution, the trustees gratefully 
acknowledge the ability and faithfulness with which the duties of the position 
have been performed. 

That they record with satisfaction the continued usefulness and prosperity of 
the college under Professor Drisler's management, which they recognize as hav- 
ing been wise and conservative in maintaining acauemic traditions, as well as 
progressive in its hearty sympathy with the healthful activity of all the schools 
of the college. 

Further resolutions i)rovided for the pi-omotion of Professor Drisler 
to the position of dean of the school of arts. 

It was during Dr. Drisler's administration that what promises to be 
one of the most useful schools of the college was opened. The prom- 
inence which electricity has of late taken in the world of science led 
the trustees to establish a school in electrical engineering and to 
appropriate sufficient funds for the erection of a thoroughly equipped 
building for its accommodation. The course in this school, as well as 
the course in sanitary engineering, was made postgraduate to the 
school of mines, and thus another step taken in the direction of a 
university. 

Shortly before his retirement Dr. Barnard had said : 

Universities are a want of the country which must and will be supplied; but they 
can not spring into being full panoplied, like Minerva from the head of Jupiter. 
They must grow by gradual accretion continued through a long series of years, 
and no such accretion can take place except around an existing nucleus. , . . 

She [Columbia] is the nucleus of what will one day be the great university of 
the city —possibly of the continent; and it should be an encouragement to all who 
have any ambition to see our city as preeminent in its literary and scientific char- 
acter as it is in its population, its commerce, and its wealth, that she is a nucleus 
so substantial already; so sound and solid at the core, that all future accretions 
will adhere to her firmly and constitute the elements of a healthy growth.' 

Throughout Dr. Barnard's long administration Columbia had 
steadily grown in this direction. The possibility which he had fore- 

' President Barnard's Report, 1886, 
3176 12 



178 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATIOK IN NEW YOEK. 

seen was accomplished in all but form and name. Fortunately for 
the college, the wisdom which has characterized the board of trustees 
since their creation did not desert them now, and mature deliberation 
enabled them to select as a successor to President Barnard a man who 
was exceptionally well fitted to continue the work and lead the college 
toward its goal — the metropolitan university. 

ACCESSION OF PRESIDENT LOW. 

On the 7th of October, 1889, Hon. Seth Low, LL. D., one of her own 
alumni, was elected to the presidencj^ of the college. President Low 
is the son of Mr. Abiel A. Low, a well-known merchant of Burling 
Slip. He was born in Brooklyn, and his early education was obtained 
at the Brooklyn Polj^technic Institute, where he was prepared for 
Columbia. He was graduated in 1870, standing at the head of his 
class. He then went abroad and spent several years in travel, after 
which he entered his father's mercantile house, where he subsequently 
became a partner. He was elected a member of the chamber of com- 
merce, served on several important committees, and achieved a cred- 
itable distinction for a series of addresses made before that body on 
the trade and commerce of New York and kindred subjects. In 1880 
he took a prominent part in national politics, founding the "Young 
Republican Club," which has since become a permanent organization 
of considerable importance. His impressiveness as a public speaker 
placed him conspicuously before the people and gained for him a wide 
celebrity. When a year later the people of Brooklyn were called 
upon under their new charter to elect a mayor with greatly increased 
responsibilities, Mr. Low was chosen by a flatteringly large majority. 
To this office he was reelected in 1883, and throughout both terms his 
administration was signalized by the display of extraordinary execu- 
tive abilities. He sank partisanship, reconstructed municipal mat- 
ters throughout, and gave the city a real reform administration. 
After his retirement he went abroad again, and on his return resumed 
his commercial occupation. In 1881 he was elected a trustee of 
Columbia, in which office he afforded his associates ample opportuni- 
ties for learning his peculiar fitness for the high position to which 
they elected him. 

His new honors were borne with becoming modesty. In his letter 
of acceptance he said : 

The honor is at the same time the summons to a duty which I may not decline. 
I accept, therefore, the position to which I have been chosen with grateful thanks 
to my colleagues for this culminating mark of their confidence and good will and 
with the assurance that I will doeverythinginmypowerto justify their judgment. 

At his own suggestion and with the advice of Dr. Drisler, President 
Low did not enter upon his duties until the beginning of the second 
term, when appropriate installation ceremonies were held on the 3d 
of February, 1890. 



COLUMBIA UNIVEKSITY. 179 

In his inaugural address, after mentioning among Columbia's many 
eminent alumni Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, DeWitt Clinton, and 
Hamilton Fish, President Low said : 

The value of the college to New York is not to be measured by the services of 
her conspicuous sons. Her chief and permanent value to the city lies in the con- 
stant witness she bears to the usefulness and nobility of the intellectual life and 
in the work she is always doing to develop and uplift that life. Columbia Col- 
lege, college and university both as she really is, holds aloft this ideal in the great 
city where finance and commerce show alike their good and their bad sides. Her 
influence makes always to strengthen the things which are good. In her financial 
management she illustrates a business trust faithfully administered without a 
breach for one hundred and thirty years. On her educational side she displays 
the splendid usefulness of money which is received not to be hoarded, but to be 
well spent. She is profoundly conscious that what she is doing is but the earnest 
of what she yet may do if New York will but make common cause with her and 
enlarge and broaden and deepen her work on every side. 

The city also may be made, to a considerable extent, a part of the university. 
All about us lie its galleries, its museums, and its libraries. Best of all, here are 
are its men, the most eminent in their calling in every walk of life. Let us bring 
these men in every possible way into vital touch with our work, and we shall see 
a university of which the whole country shall be proud. 

Administration of President Low.' 

The distinctive features of President Low's administration are the 
simplification of the university organization ; the growth in the num- 
ber of university faculties and in the real university work done; the 
gratifying general development of both college and university in 
numbers and equipment; the affiliation of the university with various 
educational agencies in the city and the closer contact with the life of 
the city itself. 

Columbia had formed a high ideal of university organization and 
work thirty years before, and had during the last year of President 
Barnard's administration been working rapidly toward it. LTniversity 
work, not merely in the professional schools, but in certain depart- 
ments of pure science, notably in economics and politics, had for 
several years before the accession of Mr. Low been successfully car- 
ried on. The relations of the different departments of the university 
in this work, however, were not systematized. Certain tentative 
changes were made immediately after the inauguration of Mr. Low 
as president. After a short trial this tentative reorganization was 
retained for the most part with further modifications seen to be 
necessary. 

' The remainder of the sketch of Columbia was written by Sidney Sherwood. 
The chapter which had been written by Mr. Hathaway described the organization 
as it was in 1891. To make the present condition of the university most easily 
intelligible it seemed best to pass over more lightly the first steps in the trans- 
formation wrought by President Low, and to bring out in clearer relief the latest 
status. While Mr. Hathaway's chapter as a whole has been discarded, a part of 
his material has been used. 



180 HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

The administrative key of the reorganized system is the univer- 
sity council, established in 1890 as a board of advisers to the presi- 
dent upon university matters, but afterwards constituted a definite 
body in the government of the university, representative of the vari- 
ous faculties and invested with large powers. 

The most lucid account of the reorganization is to be found in 
the annual reports of the president, those of 1890 and of 1892, 
respectively. 

ORGAISriZATION AT THE ACCESSION OF PRESIDENT LOW. 

Mr. Low, in his report of 1890, says: 

On the 6th of February, 1890, Columbia College in the city of New York con- 
sisted of the School of Arts, or the college proper, founded in 1754; the School of 
Law, established in 1858; the School of Mines, established in 1864, and the School 
of Political Science, established in 1880. In addition to these schools, which are 
under the direct control of the trustees of the college, the College of Physicians 
and Surgeons had become in 1860, by joint resolution of its own board of trustees 
and the trustees of Columbia, the medical department of Columbia College. The 
president, however, and this board have no responsibility as toward the medical 
department, and this report, therefore, will concern itself at this point with the 
other schools only. 

Each of these schools, the School of Arts, the School of Law, the School of Mines, 
and the School of Political Science, had its own faculty, and each school was 
administered without any reference to the others, almost without any conscious- 
ness of the others. 

' ' No degree could be had except by pursuing the complete course 
in some one school," although it was possible in some instances to 
have work taken outside one of the schools count for a degree in that 
school. In such a case, however, additional fees had to be paid. 

What seemed especially to be needed from the point of view of the student was 
such a unification of the institution as would make its varied opportunities more 
available to these students where equipment and capabilities justified them in 
desiring to study in more than one school. 

As toward the trustees, also, the existing situation had developed 
embarrassments. 

All of the scientific professors in the faculty of the School of Arts had seats also 
in the faculty of the School of Mines. In another instance, one professor sat in 
the three faculties of arts, law, and political science. When, therefore, the judg- 
ment of the teaching faculties of the entire institution was sought by the trustees, 
it had become necessary to direct that no professor should vote in more than one 
faculty. It was clear to all concerned that somebody ought to be constituted 
which should represent to the trustees the teaching mind of the institution in all 
its parts. The problem was to secure a body which would be accepted as fairly 
representative by all the members of every faculty. 

Again, the graduate work, for which were given the higher degrees of master of 
arts and doctor of philosophy, stood in need of organization. It had grown to 
considerable proportions, but for the most part it depended too much upon indi- 
vidual professors. There was no general standard to which all must conform. 
In the School of Political Science, it is true, this work represented a large part of 
the labors of the faculty, for, with the exception of the first year, it is a graduate 



COLUMBIA UNIVEESITY. 181 

school: but in the School of Arts and the School of Mines the graduate work was a 
mere incident. For this purpose, also, it was necessary to secure a body which 
could, in effect, direct the graduate work where it concerned itself with more 
than one school, and provide a common standard for all the schools. Incidentally, 
it was desirable, if possible, to place this work in its general phases under the 
charge of faculties rather than of individuals. 

It thus appears from these different points of view that the first thing necessary 
in any i eorganization was to secure the central body which would unify the insti- 
tution in the various directions indicated, thus enabling it to be operated as one 
whole instead of as so many parts. The one essential condition in relation to such 
a body was that it should be felt to be and be accepted, by both trustees and pro- 
fessors, as thoroughly and fairly representative of the entire institution. Prior to 
my election the trustees had in fact decided that there should be such a body, to 
be known as an academic or university council. When I assumed the duties of 
my office, it remained to be decided how this body should be composed, and what 
precisely should be its function. It was the common opinion, also, that there 
should be created a faculty of philosophy, to have charge of the advanced work 
in philosophy, philology, and letters. Such a faculty, if created, made it possible 
to divide all the professors in the institution into homogeneous groups, of which 
groups no professor should be in more than one. 

THE PRESENT ORGANIZATION. 

"Columbia University at the present time consists of the School of 
Alts, the original college founded in 1754; of sundrj'^ professional 
schools, to wit, the School of Law, the College of Physicians and Sur- 
geons, and the School of Mines, admission to all of which, as candi- 
dates for professional degrees, is open to all students whether or not 
they are college-bred men; and of the university faculties of Law, 
Medicine, Mines (Applied Science), Political Science, Philosophy, and 
Pure Science, which conduct all courses leading to the university 
degrees of Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy. 

"The point of contact between the college and the university is the 
senior year in the School of Arts, during which year students in the 
School of Arts pursue their studies, with the consent of the faculty of 
arts, under one or more of the universitj^ faculties. The term 'uni- 
versity faculties ' includes all the faculties except the faculty of arts, 

"The various schools are under the charge of their own faculties, 
and for the better conduct of the strictly university work, as well as 
of the whole institution, a university council has been established."^ 

THE UNIVERSITY COUNCIL. 

" The university council consists of the president, the deans of the 
several university faculties, and of a representative chosen from and 
by each faculty for the term of three years, and of the dean and the 
secretary of the School of Arts ex officio. 

"The council (subject to the reserved power of control by the trus- 
tees) has power, and it is its duty, in all matters not referred by stat- 
ute to the president or the several faculties — 



' Columbia College. Historical sketch and present condition. New York, 
April, 1893, p. 16. 



182 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

"To fix and determine the conditions upon which the degrees of 
Master of Arts (Master of Laws by amendment, June o, 1893) and 
Doctor of Philosophy shall be conferred, and to recommend candi- 
dates for such degrees; 

" To secure the correlation of courses offered by the several univer- 
sity faculties, with a view to increasing the efficiency and enlarging 
the range of university work ; to encourage original research; to adjust 
all questions involving more than one faculty; 

"To make such recommendations, both to the trustees and to the 
several faculties, concerning the educational administration of the 
university, as may seem to it proper, and to advise the president upon 
such matters as he may bring before it; 

"To prescribe the form of the commencement exercises and to select 
the speakers; 

" To appoint all fellows and to make rules for their government, 
subject to such restrictions as may be prescribed by the statutes or 
by the terms upon which the several fellowships are established. 

"The council may invite a representative of the faculties of the Gen- 
eral Protestant Episcopal and of the Union Theological seminaries, 
respectively, to sit with it, with power to advise only. " ^ 

ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATION. 

"From the administrative point of view it is almost more convenient 
to sny that Columbia consists of the college, that is, the School of 
Arts, and of six university faculties — Law, Medicine, Mines, Political 
Science, Philosophy, and Pure Science — for while it is true that each 
of these faculties conducts a school, it is also true that they work 
together in giving instruction to an increasing body of students who 
seek instruction from more than one faculty. In other words, the 
Columbia that two years and a half ago consisted of four schools 
almost wholly unrelated to each other consists now of seven schools 
that are tied together by all the interests of a common life. The uni- 
versity council, established two years ago as an advisory body only, by 
the revised statutes has been made a body with ample powers, experi- 
ence having shown that it was admirably adapted to serve as the 
principal organ of the faculties in directing the common life of the 
university. The council also serves as a unifying factor, consisting 
as it does of two members from every faculty, who constantly meet 
together to deal with questions of common concern."^ 

NEW FACULTIES ESTABLISHED. 

In 1891 the College of Physicians and Surgeons surrendered its 
separate charter and became one of the university faculties of Colum- 
bia. An agreement was also entered into with the General and Union 

'Columbia College. Historical sketch and present condition. New York, 
April, 1893. p. 16. 
- President's Report, 1892, p. 7. 



COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. 183 

Theological seminaries providing certain reciprocal educational priv- 
ileges and giving these institutions a qualified representation in the 
university council. In 1892 a school of pure science was established, 
the object of which was "to increase the opportunities for advanced 
work in mathematics and natural science on the part of the students 
who do not care to take any of the technical courses in the School of 
Mines." The faculty of this school also secured equal representation 
in the university council. 

EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATION. 

The educational organization then consists of a college in the usual 
American meaning of the term, in which a four years' course of study 
leads to the degree of B. A., the last year of which, however, can be 
spent in work under university faculties ; three professional schools, 
Law, Medicine, and Mines (the latter a technological school), and 
three schools in which scientific research is the chief aim — School of 
Political Science, School of Philosophy, and School of Pure Science. 

The statute regulating the conferring of degrees is as follows: 

The president shall have power, when the requirements of the statutes shall 
have been satisfactorily fulfilled, to confer degrees as follows: 

a. The degree of Bachelor of Arts, upon the recommendation of the faculty of 
arts; 

6. The professional and technical degrees of Bachelor of Laws, upon the recom- 
mendation of the faculty of law; Doctor of Medicine, upon the recommendation 
of the faculty of medicine; and Bachelor of Science, Engineer of Mines, Civil Engi- 
neer, Metallurgical Engineer, Electrical Engineer, and Sanitary Engineer, upon 
the recommendation of the faculty of the School of Mines; and 

c. The degrees of Master of Arts, Master of Laws, and Doctor of Philosophy, 
upon the recommendation of the university council. ' 

THE WORK OF THE SEVERAL FACULTIES. 
THE SCHOOL OF ARTS OR COLLEGE PROPER. 

The minimum age on entrance is 15 years. The curriculum covers 
four years. 

The studies of the freshman and sophomore years are for the most 
part obligatory. In the junior year, rhetoric, philosophy, history, and 
political economy are required, and eleven hours per week of elective 
studies are allowed and must be filled. In the senior year the studies 
are wholly elective and must occupy not less than fifteen hours per 
week. The first year courses of the school of law, the school of mines 
in any of its departments, and the college of physicians and surgeons 
are open to seniors. 

THE SCHOOL OF LAW. 

This is a professional school des -ned "to prepaie students for 
practice in any State of the Union." Before Mr. Low became presi- 
dent it was almost entirely in the hands of its founder, Prof. Theodore 



1 Columbia College in the City of New York, etc., p. 16. 



184 HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW" YOEK. 

W. Dwight, and, while held by common opinion one of the best two 
law schools in the country, it was not entirely suited to the conditions 
of the later times. President Low found it necessarj^ to reorganize it 
in the interests of more scholarly legal education, as well as to make 
it harmonize with his general policy of reorganization. Let him tell 
the story of the change in his own words : ^ 

"The most important internal educational change of the year has 
been the reorganization of the law school. This was made necessary 
by the announcement in January of Prof. Theodore W. Dwight, the 
warden of the school, of his purpose to retire as an emeritus professor 
on July 1, 1891, under the resolutions of the trustees already alluded 
to. Dr. Dwight's notice of his intended retirement was followed 
almost immediately by the resignations of Profs. George Chase and 
Robert D. Petty, which resignations were accepted, as presented, to 
take effect June 30, at the end of the academic year. It is greatly 
to be regretted that in the law school the old order could not have 
passed into the new as easily and pleasantly as it has done in all 
other parts of the university. Historically the situation was excep- 
tionally difficult, the initiative as to , many points which properly 
belonged with the president having been with the warden from the 
formation of the school ; but a fuller explanation of the complete 
break which has taken place is to be found in the wide differences of 
opinion which prevailed as to the future policy of the school. The 
differences between the new arrangement of the course and the old 
are clearly indicated by the following points : 

"1. The new course assumes three years as the unit of the course, 
instead of adding a third year to the old two-years' course, as though 
that were a thing complete. This is in accordance with the report of 
the siDecial committee, to which was referred the subject of a third- 
year's course in the law school, presented to the trustees May 7, 1888. 

"2. The new course is based upon the concurrent study of different 
subjects. 

"3. It permits the study of public law as part of the equipment for 
the degree. 

"4. It adjusts the hours so as to discourage office work during the 
first two years, while facilitating it in the third yesir. 

"5. The hours have been so arranged as to throw open to the 
students of law many privileges of study in other departments of 
university instruction which would otherwise be denied to them. 

"6. The new course offers a broader range of choice in legal sub- 
jects by establishing numerous elective studies. 

"7. It relieves the professors from repeating the same work twice a 
daj^, but it requires their attendance at the school through the entire 
academic year." 

This change has been productive of good results. The relative 

^ President's Report, 1891, pp. 17-18. 



COLUMBIA UNIVEKSITY. 185 

number of students taking law without a college degree grows each 
year less, and the character of the work is distinctly broader and 
more scholarly. 

THE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS. 

Consolidated with Columbia in 1891 and now one of the university 
faculties, several notable steps in the line of progress have been taken 
by the medical school. President Low says in his report for 1891 : 

The medical school has been importantly strengthened in those directions which 
make for more thorough teaching and in the laboratories which are to conduct 
original research, while the multiplied opportunities of a great iiniversity are 
thrown open at once to the students of medicine. 

The coui'se of study, which was at that time three years, has now 
become a four-years' course. The notable features of the extension 
to four years are "the great increase in clinical instruction available 
to students in small groups," and the introduction of elective courses 
in the fourth year. 

THE SCHOOL OF MINES. 

This is a polytechnic school. It offers the following seven courses 
of instruction, each of four years' duration: Mining engineering, 
civil engineering, electrical engineering, metallurgy, geology and 
paleontology, analytical and applied chemistry, and architecture. 
There is also a graduate course of two years in sanitary engineering. 

It offers, also, university courses for the degrees of master of arts 
and doctor of philosophy in all the departments to graduates of 
.Columbia or other colleges with equivalent curricula. 

THE SCHOOL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE. 

"1. The school of political science, established in 1880, embraces 
courses in constitutional history and constitutional law, history of 
political theories, political economy and social science, Roman law 
and comparative jurisprudence, administrative law, international law, 
and history. 

' ' The faculty aims to give a complete general view of all the subjects 
of public polity, both internal and external, from the threefold point 
of view of history, law, and philosophy. The i:)rime aim is, therefore, 
the development of all the branches of the political sciences. The 
secondary and practical objects are: 

"a. To flt young men for all the political branches of the public 
service. 

"6. To give an adequate economic and legal training to those who 
intend to make journalism their profession. 

"c. To supplement, by courses in jDublic law and comparative juris- 
prudence, the instruction in private municipal law offered by the 
faculty of law. 

"d. To educate teachers of political science."^ 

' Columbia College, etc. Historical sketch and present condition. 1893. p. 30. 



186 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

The courses are arranged in three groups: (1) History and political 
philosophy; (2) Public law and comparative jurisprudence; (3) Politi- 
cal economy and social science. 

The seminarium is an important feature of this school, every stim- 
ulus to original work being given. The results of this work have 
been of gratifying excellence. A series of studies in history, eco- 
nomics, and public law, embodying the best results of this original 
work, has completed its fourth volume, and has received wide and 
favorable recognition. The well-known Political Science Quarterly, 
now in its tenth volume, is the organ of this faculty. 

The competition for fellowships shows something of the spirit of the 
work of this school. The dean's report for 1894 shows 98 applicants 
for university fellowships in political science, of whom 36 were recom- 
mended by the faculty as worthy the appointment. Only 9 were 
awarded fellowships. 

In 1894 a chair of sociology was established by the appointment of 
Prof. Franklin H. Giddings. 

The chief obstacle to the highest efficiency of the work in this school 
seems to be the large number of law students who take this work as 
a secondary matter. Of the 226 students enrolled in this school in 
1894, 151 were also law students. The majoritj'^ of the law students 
are not college graduates. Many of the other students in this school 
are not college graduates. In fact, of the 226 mentioned above, only 
139 were full university students, and of these 40 had only finished 
the junior year in college. 

Fortunately, however, the growth of the percentage of college grad- 
uates is clearly perceptible. The school has one of the ablest and best 
organized faculties in political science in the world. 

THE SCHOOL OF PHILOSOPHY. 

This school was established in 1890, and is in a sense the realization 
of the school of letters once planned. It has charge of the university 
courses in philosophy, psychology, philology, and letters. This some- 
what anomalous restriction in scope was probably rendered necessary 
by the preemptions of other faculties, such as that of political science 
and of pure science. This logical inconsistency in titles, however, 
has no evil effect upon the practical work of the school.^ In 1895 it 
offered the following courses : 

Number 
of courses. 

1. Philosophy and education 13 

2. Pedagogy (Teachers' College) 15 

3. Greek. .^ - 10 

4. Latin --- -- - 9 

5. English -. - -- 13 

6. Literature 4 

1 The relations to the Teachers' College have become more intimate with the 
incorporation of the latter in the university. 



COLUMBIA UNIVEKSITY. 187 

Number 
of courses. 

7. Germanic languages ._ 7 

8. Romance languages 11 

9. Sanskrit ._. 3 

10. Semitic languages . - - , 9 

11. Iranian languages 5 

13. Linguistics 1 

THE SCHOOL OF PUEE SCIENCE. 

The first movement toward the establishment of this school was the 
creation of a department of biology in 1891. This was partly an out- 
growth of the consolidation with the College of Physicians and Sur- 
-geons. It served as a connecting link between the medical school and 
the university, and also developed the policy to provide for advanced 
scientific study. 

The school of pure science was established the next year. It con- 
tains the following departments: Mathematics, mechanics, physics, 
chemistry, mineralogy, astronomy, geology, biology, botany, phj^s- 
iology, anatomy, bacteriology. The number of students attending 
courses during the first and second years may be summarized as 
follows : 





1892-93. 


1893-9t. 


Graduates 


13 

37 

2 

1 

6 


29 


Seniors, school of arts. - 


29 


From school of law.. 




From school of philosophy 




Special students 


9 






Total. 


59 


67 







UNIVERSITY PRESS. 

"At the close of the academic year 1892-93 the trustees authorized 
the formation of a corporation to be known as the Columbia University 
Press, to which they granted the use of that name, subject to revoca- 
tion, in case of need, at the option of the trustees. This corporation 
has since been formed, with the president of Columbia College as its 
president. Its object is to provide for the printing and publication 
of meritorious works on all subjects, after the manner of the Claren- 
don Press at Oxford. It has designated Messrs. Macmillan & Co. as 
its publishing agents. The first book to be brought out, bearing its 
imprint, very appropriately was Classical Studies in Honour of Henry 
Drisler. Already, however, the Press has performed another service 
of great value to the college. A committee was appointed "to con- 
sider and report on the desirability and practicability of securing uni- 
formity and cooperation in the publication of college documents 
(contributions to literature and science), and of the several journals 
edited by faculties of the college. " As a result of the labors of this 
committee, all the serial studies and contributions from departments 



188 HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

of tlie college, whicli hitherto have appeared in all sorts of shapes, 
will appear henceforth with a certain degree of uniformity in style 
and caption, so far as that may be possible with contributions cover- 
ing so wide a range. All of them will have, in common, the effect of 
a systematic series of studies embodying the researches of the officers 
and students of our various departments. In this way it is expected 
that the college will be recognized, more widely than hitherto, as the 
seat of original work in many subjects, no effort having been made in 
the past to connect these different series with each other or with the 
college. It is interesting to observe how generally our professors are 
at work in this direction. The following journals are issued under 
the direction of members of the faculties of Columbia College, or in 
cooperation with members of other colleges: 

The School of Mines Quarterly. 

The Political Science Quarterly, 

Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. 

Bulletin of the New York Mathematical Society. 

Educational Review. (In cooperation.) 

Modern Language Notes. (In cooperation.) 

American Journal of Archaeology. (In cooperation. ) 

Psychological Review. (In cooperation.) 
"The following serial studies and contributions are issued from the 
college: 

Studies in Histor}^, Economics, and Public Law. 

Studies from the Analytical and Assay Laboratories of the 
School of Mines. 

Contributions from the Electrical Engineering Department of 
the School of Mines. 

Contributions from the Herbarium of Columbia College. 

Contributions from the Mineralogical Department of Columbia 
College. 

Contributions from the Geological Department of Columbia Col- 
lege. 

Contributions from the Observatory^ of Columbia College. 

Contributions to Philosophy, Psychology, and Education. 

Studies from the Biological Department of Columbia College. 

Studies from the Department of Pathology, College of Phj^si- 
cians and Surgeons, Columbia College."^ 

STATISTICS CONCEENING THE UNIVERSITY AS A WHOLE. 

The student membership of the university reveals a gratifjdng 
growth. It was in — 

1891-92 .__ 1,573 

1892-93 1,641 

1893-94... 1,805 

1894-95 1,943 

^ President's report, 1894, pp. 7-8. 



COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. 



189 



The gain comes from all quarters of the Union, and the gains from 
a distance are, both absolutely and in percentage, in excess of local 
gains. 

Instructors. 



Professors 

Emeritus professors. 

Adjunct professors 

Clinical professors 

Instructors 

Tutors 

Assistants.... 

Curators 

Lecturers 

Director of laboratories . . 

Demonstrators 

Assistant demonstrators. 

Clinical lecturers 

Chiefs of clinic 

Clinical assistants -. 

Honorary assistants 



1892-93. 



236 



1893-94. 



51 
6 
1.5 
9 
21 
18 
30 
2 
15 

3 

7 

6 

10 

61 

3 

'257 



1 1894-95, 265 



It will be noticed that the teaching force has been importantly 
strengthened as compared with last year. 



Students. 







1892-93. 


1893-94. 


Percentage. 




1892-93. 


1893-94. 


Undergraduates . 




296 

497 
847 


271 
575 

958 


18.05 
30.30 
51.65 


15 02 




31 87 




53 11 




for women (now superseded by Barnard Col- 




Collegiate course 
lege) - 


1,640 
1 


1,804 
1 


100 


100 












1,641 


1,805 













Summary by schools. 





1892-93. 


1893-94. 




Num- 
ber 
hold- 
ing de- 
gree. 


With- 
out de- 
gree. 


Total. 


Per- 
cent- 
age of 

de- 
grees. 


Num- 
ber 
hold- 
ing de- 
gree. 


With- 
out de- 
gree. 


Total. 


Per- 
cent- 
age of 

de- 
grees. 




103 
251 
61 
79 
63 
3 


166 
403 
323 

' 85 
57 
3 


269 
654 
384 
164 
120 
5 


38 

38 

16 

48 

53.5 

40 


Ill 
305 
52 
18 
65 
23 


137 
461 
325 
10 

18 

7 


248 
766 
377 
128 
83 
30 


45 




40 


Mines 


14 


Political science 


64 


Philosophy , 

Pure science 


78 

77 








559 
62 


1,037 
190 


1,596 
253 




































Arts.. 


497 


847 


1,344 

296 

1 


36.9 


574 

1 


958 
271 


1,533 

273 
1 


37 


College course for women 






















Grand total 






1,641 








1,805 



















1 The table for 1893-94 has been made without duplicates for purposes of convenience, but it 



190 HISTOKY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

The following tables show the gratifying spread of our influence : 

Number of colleges represented by graduate students. 



Year. 



1891-93 
1892-93 
1893-94 
1894-95 




Foreign 
colleges. 

14 
13 

18 
26 



THE NEW SITE AND BUILDINGS. 

On January 1, 1895, at a cost of $2,000,000, the college came into 
possession of a tract of 17 acres on Riverside Heights, between One 
hundred and sixteenth and One hundred and twentieth streets. 
President Low says : 

By general consent the new site is unsurpassed in location by that of any uni- 
versity in the world. It is near the Grant monument and the new cathedral of 
St. John the Divine. Anyone placing a building upon this site, in such a location, 
may be confident of a memorial at once enduring and useful, and one which will 
be before the eyes of the people of the United States almost more than any college 
building in the land. 

This gives a fine opportuity for the construction of buildings upon 
a generous plan. 

PRESIDENT low's GIFT. 

In connection with the removal of the university to the new site, 
special mention should be made of the munificent gift of President 
Low. In May, 1895, Mr. Low offered to give to the trustees a sum 
not exceeding $1,000,000 to retire bonds issued for the building of the 
new library. The gift was made as a memorial of Mr. Low's father, 
Abiel Abbott Low, and was conditioned upon the establishment of 36 
scholarships and 1 fellowship in Columbia College, Barnard College, 
and Columbia University, and the release of President Low from the 
charge of the salary of the professor of sociology. The trustees voted 
not only to accept the conditions accompanying President Low's gift, 
but to establish also ' ' The Seth Low professorship of American his- 

does not fairly represent in this form the work of the various faculties. The total number of 
students taught by each faculty is as follows: 



Under faculty of — 
Law 

Medicine - .. 

Mines 

Political science 

Philosophy 

Pure science 



There has been a slight decrease in the School of Arts, due, probably, to causes already noted. 
The percentage of graduate students is larger than ever. The graduate students number 575, 
and they form 31.87 per cent of the entire student body. 




COLUMBIA UNIVEESITY. 191 

tory." This noble liberality was emulated by Mr. William C. Scher- 
merhorn, who at the same time offered to erect a building for natural 
science, not to exceed in cost $300,000. 

COLUMBIA ' ' UNIVERSITY. " 

President Low, in his report for 1894-95, says: 

Inasmuch as King's, afterwards and still Columbia College, has now developed 
into the university that it aimed from the beginning to become, I think the time 
has arrived when the entire institution should be known upon our statutes, even 
if the name of the corporation remain unchanged, either as Columbia University 
or as the University of Columbia College. By a resolution of the trustees, passed 
June 1, 1891, I am already authorized to refer to the institution in any publica- 
tion or announcement as a university. 

I shall shortly submit proposed amendments to the statutes intended to give 
effect to the use of the name university for the institution as a whole, and of 
Columbia College for the school of arts. I trust these proposals will meet with 
favorable consideration. 

This leads me to consider the university and its policy from another point of 
view. Whatever may have been the case twenty-five years ago, there is no doubt 
that to-day, in the United States, there is growing up a tolerably distinct concep- 
tion of the difference between a college and a imiversity. A college is conceived 
of as a place for liberal culture; a university as a place for specialization based 
on liberal cultiare. In this sense, it is true that Columbia is both a college and a 
university, and as yet but partially a university. 

In the school of law only 47 per cent are college graduates: in the school of 
medicine barely 36 per cent; and iu the school of mines only 13 per cent. It goes 
without saying that a man need not be a college- bred man in order to be a good 
lawyer, a good physician, or a good engineer. But it is the general testimony of 
experience, and the uniform testimony of all the faculities, that the best men, 
with rare exceptions, are those who have first had the broadening training and 
the mental discipline of a liberal course. 

I conceive, therefore, that it should be Columbia's policy, slowly, if you please, 
but steadily, to raise the requirements for admission to all her professional schools 
until a liberal training, equivalent to the old-time college course, is demanded as 
a condition for admission to every one of them. I hope such a declaration of 
policy may shortly be made. I think it would give consistency to our own devel- 
opment, and be of service to the cause of higher education throughout the United 
States. 

RELATION OF BARNARD COLLEGE TO COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. 
[From President Low's Report, 1894-95.] 

"A matter of great moment, having important consequences, has 
been discussed by the University Council. The relations of Barnard 
College to Columbia College as to the first three years of the college 
course are perfectly distinct. For these years Barnard College pro- 
vides separate instruction for its young women, almost exclusively by 
instructors connected with Columbia. As a result of the discussion 
alluded to, the ultimate relation of Barnard College to Columbia, as 
to graduate work, is about to be determined by experiment along two 
different lines. The senior year being merged at Columbia with the 
first year of university work does not call for separate consideration. 



192 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IJST NEW YOEK. 

Under the statutes of the trustees, students of Barnard College are at 
liberty to attend lectures at Columbia in the two faculties of philoso- 
phy and political science, the consent of the president and the pro- 
fessor delivering the course being first obtained. Under this provi- 
sion a considerable number of courses in philosophy and letters have 
been available to the students of Barnard for several years. No 
embarrassment or difficulty has arisen from this arrangement in any 
instance or in any direction. This is one alternative. 

"The faculty of political science, on the other hand, has uniformly 
declined to open any of its courses to Barnard students. The courses 
in higher mathematics, as being in the faculty of pure science, are 
also closed to the young women, that facultj^ having been established 
since the statute that deals with this question was adopted. Under 
these circumstances, Barnard College found itself unable to offer to 
women advanced courses in history, jjolitical economy, and mathe- 
matics. The students of Barnard can not attend the lectures on these 
subjects at Columbia, and the professors delivering the lectures 
declined, for lack of time, to repeat them at Barnard. In the mean- 
while Columbia had undertaken to give its degree to the graduates of 
Barnard College. This is the problem, then, to which the University 
Council addressed itself. The first proposition was to take the nec- 
essary action to throw open to the students of Barnard the desired 
courses given at Columbia. The University Council declined to adopt 
this course, and it seemed for the moment as if the whole scheme for the 
higher education of women in the city of New York for which Barnard 
College stands, was in danger of shipwreck. Happily the friends of 
Barnard and of the higher education of women were equal to the 
emergency, so that what threatened to be a crushing disaster was con- 
verted into a distinct advantage to both Barnard and Columbia. Bar- 
nard proposed to furnish to Columbia the money for the salaries of 
three professors, one in history, one in political economy, and one in 
mathematics, who should divide their time between Columbia and 
Barnard, provided that professors already connected with Columbia 
in the same subjects should give as many hours of instruction at Bar- 
nard as the professors provided by Barnard should give at Columbia. 

"This proposal met with the approval of the university council, and 
upon their recommendation it has been adopted by the trustees of 
Columbia and successfully carried into effect. It has one undoubted 
merit. Barnard thus becomes a source of positive strength to Colum- 
bia instead of making new demands upon Columbia's strength. It 
also provides for the women, separately, advanced courses in history, 
political economy, and mathematics, for the time being ample in 
number and in range, by the same professors that teach the men at 
Columbia. I hope the time will never come when Barnard shall cease 
to support these professorships. As Barnard College increases in 
financial strength it is reasonable to hope that the number of profes- 




— .uIbS 




COLUMBIA UmVEESITY. 193 

sorships supported by it at Columbia will be enlarged. Those who 
are interested in securing for women the same educational advantages 
that the men enjoy should not be content to ask the old foundations 
to do double duty; they ought to be glad to prove, in some such way 
as this, that the old foundations will themselves be strengthened, if 
they lend themselves to the new work. 

"It is thus to be tested by experiment, as the second alternative, 
whether it will continue to be thought worth while to provide for 
women, separately from the men, this university instruction in such 
subjects as history, political economy, and mathematics. As to the 
college work we are all agreed ; the young men and j^oung women are 
taught separately, and should continue to be so taught. As to the 
advanced work, however, in the opinion of many the case is different. 
Oxford, Cambridge, the Scotch Universities, to say nothing of the 
usual American practice or of the occasional German courtesy, all 
throw open their university courses to women in common with men. 
Under such a system it is clear that the addition of three professors 
to the staff of the university would add just so much to the privileges 
enjoyed both by the men and by the women. Under the system 
actually insisted upon by our university council, a sj^stem of offsets, 
Barnard does indeed secure the educational privileges for which it 
pays; but the men of Columbia lose as many courses from our old 
professors as they gain from the new, so that the men are better off 
than they were before only by the greater range that can be covered 
by the larger number of professors. I doubt whether public senti- 
ment, either ouside of the university or within it, will long consider 
this separateness of instruction of women in the higher courses worth 
maintaining at so heavy a cost. However, that is precisely what is 
to be determined by this experiment." 

It has been Mr. Low's good fortune to assume the government of 
this great college at the time when everything was ready for a sudden 
and brilliant development. The increasing number of college gradu- 
ates looking forward to scientific rather than professional careers were 
ready to welcome new opportunities for training. The growing 
importance of economic and political studies gave inevitable success 
to a well-organized attempt to teach these subjects to advanced stu- 
dents. The scholarly study of the law had become a crying need of 
the time. The feasibility of carrying on in this country original 
research of the highest character in the various departments of pure 
science had been demonstrated by the success of the Johns Hopkins 
University. A more scientific training in medicine, not only for the 
teacher, but for the practitioner, was becoming a recognized necessity. 

The work accomplished in these few years shows that the opportu- 
nities have been clearly seen and firmly grasped. Not the least sig- 
nificant feature of the new Columbia is its power of absorption by 
affiliation. In this way it has knit closely to itself Barnard College 
3176 13 



194 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

for Women, the Teachers' College, two theological seminaries, the 
Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Museum of Natural History. 
It has also established connection with Cooper Institute by means of 
lecture courses delivered there by Columbia professors. Its policy is 
by affiliation with all the greatest agencies of the city's life to become 
the scientific and scholarly representative of the city and to make 
itself a vital power in shaping the development of the city. If rightly 
appreciated by the people of New York and wisely guided in its future 
course, Columbia, it can be safely prophesied, is only entering upon 
the long period of its greatness.^ 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

1. Charter and Acts of the Legislature relating to Columbia College 
IN THE City of New York. 

The charter of King's College in the city of New York. October 31, 
1754. Statutes, 1785. 

An act to institute an university within this State and for other purposes 'therein 
mentioned. April 13, 1787. (Sess. 10, ch. 82, sees. 8, 9, 10, 11. Greenleaf's 
edition. Vol. I, p. 437.) ' . " 

(This act renewed the charter and changed the name to Columbia College in the city of 
New York.) 

An act to encourage literature by donations to Columbia College and to the several 
academies in the State. April 11, 1793. (Sess. 15, ch. 69, sees. 1, 3. Green- 
leaf's edition. Vol. II, p. 479.) Supplemented by — 

An act for the payment of certain officers of government and other contingent 
expenses. April 11, 1796. (3 Greenleaf, 340.) 

An act respecting Union College and for the purposes therein mentioned. March 
30, 1797. (3 Greenleaf, 449.) (Appropriation for the preservation of the 
Anatomical Museum. ) 

An act to amend the act entitled "An act for the encouragement of literature." 
April 3, 1802. (Sess. 25, ch. 105, sees. 1, 2. Webster's edition. Vol. Ill, p. 163.) 

An act relative to Columbia College in the city of New York. March 23, 1810. 
(Sess. 33, ch. 85. Webster & Skinner's edition. Vol. VI, p. 24. ) Statutes, 1811. ) 

An act to render the provost of Columbia College in the city of New York eligible 
to be a trustee thereof. February 14, 1812. (Sess. 35, ch. 6. Webster & 
Skinner's edition, Vol. VI, p. 348.) 

An act instituting a lottery for the promotion of literature, and for other pur- 
poses. April 13, 1814. (Sess. 37, ch. 120, sees. 6, 7. Webster & Skinner's 
edition. Vol. Ill, p. 142.) 

(This act granted the Botanic Garden to Columbia with conditions, which were removed 
by the following act ) : 

An act relative to Columbia College in the city of New York, February 19, 1819. 

(Statutes, 1821.) (Sess. 42, ch. 19. Gould & Co.'s edition. Vol. V, p. 26.) 
Original charter October 31, 1754, with the acts of the legislature altering and 

amending the same or relating to the college. 1836. 

'The President's Annual Report for 1897 gives valuable information, statistical 
in part, about the growth of the university during his presidency. 




^^ml 









}j"i 



■w^m ms, 



m 





COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. 195 

An act [Statutes, 1843] to amend an act entitled '^An act [Statutes, 1851] relative 
to Columbia College in the city of New York," passed March 23, 1810. (Laws 
of 1852, ch. 310.) April 15, 1852. 
Original charter and acts of the legislature relating to the college. New York, 

1854. 
An act to authorize the trustees of Columbia College in the city of New York to 
take and hold certain real estate. (Laws of 1857, ch. 132.) March 19, 1857. 
An act to authorize the trustees of Columbia College in the city of New York to 
take and hold certain real estate. (Laws of 1860, ch. 51.) March 2, 1860. 
On the authority of these two laws the site of the college at Forty-ninth street was pur- 
chased. 
An act to amend the charter of the College of Physicians and Surgeons in the city 
of New York. March 24, 1860. Chapter HI. 

This gave the trustees the right to confer degrees directly without the intervention of 
the regents as formerly. Immediately .succeeding this act and under its influence the 
College of Physicians and Surgeons was made the medical department of Columbia. 
An act relative to the law school of Columbia College. April 7, 1860. (Laws of 

1860, ch. 202: statutes, 1866.) 
An act in relation to Columbia College in the city of New York. March 8, 1872. 
(Laws of 1872, ch. 96.) 

(Granting general power to hold land.) 
An act in relation to Columbia College in the city of New York. March 28, 1884. 

(Laws of 1884, ch. 65.) 
An act to amend the charter of the College of Physicians and Surgeons [medical 
department of Columbia College]. April 17.1885. (Laws of 1885, ch. 146.) 
Act authorizing change of name to Columbia University, 1896. 

2. Official Documents. 

1. Statutes of Columbia College. 

2. Resolutions of the board of trustees, 1820-1868. New York, 1868. 

3. Resolutions of the board of trustees, 1868-1874. New York, 1874. 

4. Resolutions of the board of trustees, 1874-1879. New York, 1879. 

5. Resolutions of the bo-ird of trustees, Vol. VIII, 1880-1885. New York, 1885. 

6. Resolutions of the board of tru.^tees. Vol. IX. 1885-1889. New York, 1889. 

7. Resolutions of the board of trustees. Extracts from the minutes printed 

monthly to date. 

8. Presidents' reports. Annual. Printed for the college. 

9. Report of the board of trustees of Columbia College to the regents of the Uni- 

versity of the State of New York. Annual. Printed in the regeats' reports. 

10. A.nnual report of the treasurer of Columbia College. Printed for the use of 

the trustees. 

11. Annual Catalogue of Columbia College (including The Register and The Cir- 

cular of Information). Printed for the college in this form till 1878. 

12. Annual Register, 1879 to date. 

13. Annual Handbook, 1879 to date. 

The handbook contains each year a brief historical sketch of the college. 

14. General catalogue of the officers and graduates, 1754-1888. Tenth edition. 

Prepared by J. H. Van Amringe. New York, 1888. 

15. Annual Catalogue of the College of Physicians and Surgeons. New York, 

Printed for college. 

16. Report relative to the course of instruction and discipline in Columbia Col- 

lege. Presented to the trustees February 28, 1810. New York, 1810. 

17. Report of the committee of the trustees relative to the removal of the college. 

New York, 1854. 



196 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IJST NEW YOEK. 

18. Report of the select committee of the legislature (New York State) appointed 

to examine into the affairs of Columbia College. Albany, 1855. 

19. Report of a committee of the trustees appointed to inquire into the condition 

of the college. New York, 1858. 

3. Semiofficial Documents. 

1. The Founding of King's (afterwards Columbia) College, by Daniel J. Pratt. 
Annals of Public Education in the State of New York. University Con- 
vocation. Regents' Report, 1874, pp. 715-780. 

3. The Founding of the University of the State of New York, under the legisla- 
tive acts of 1784 and 1787, by Daniel .J. Pratt. Regents' Report, 1876, pp. 
671-748. 

3. Annals of Public Education (resumed) , by Daniel J. Pratt. Regents' Report, 

1883, pp. 671-748. 

4. Legislative grants and franchises enacted for the benefit of academies, etc., 

from 1786-1873. Annals of Public Education, by Daniel J. Pratt. Uni- 
versity Convocation, 1872, p. 205. 

5. University of the State of New York Historical and Statistical Record, 1784- 

1884, by Franklin B. Hough. Printed by authority of legislature, Albany, 
1885. 

6. Contributions to the History of Medical Education and Medical Institutions in 

the United States, 1776-1876. Special report prepared for the United States 
Bureau of Education by N. S. Davis, A. M., M. D. Washington, 1877. 

7. Ther Study of History in American Colleges and Universities, by Herbert B. 

Adams, Ph. D. Bureau of Education. Circular of Information No. 3. 
1887. 

8. History of Federal and State Aid to Higher Education in the United States, 

by Frank W. Blackmar, Ph. D. Bureau of Education. Circular of Infor- 
mation No. 1. 1890. 

4. Histories. 

1. An Historical Sketch of Columbia College in the City of New York, by Nathaniel 

F. Moore, president. New York. Printed for the college, 1846. 

2. The First Century of Columbia College, by Alfred Jones. New York, 1863. 

3. An Historical Sketch of Columbia College in the City of New York, 1754-1876, 

by J. Howard Yan Amringe. New York, 1876. 

4. History of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Medical Department of 

Columbia College, by John Call Dalton, M. D., president. New York, 1888. 

5. Encyclopedia Articles. 

Appleton's American Cyclopaedia, Vol. V, p. 118. 

Chambers' Encyclopaedia, III, 369 (brief). 

Encyclopaedia Americana, II, 314. 

Encyclopaedia Britannica, XVII, 456, 461 (brief), XXIII, 857 (mere mention). 

Johnson's Universal Cyclopaedia, II, 160. 

6. Magazine Articles. 

1. The National Quarterly Review, vol. 18, p. 303, "Columbia College," by E. I. 

Sears. 
3. Appleton's Journal, vol. 5, p. 583. 

3. American Quarterly Register, VII, p. 344. 

4. Christian Review, Vol. II, p. 115. 



COLUMBIA UNIVEESITl . 197 

5. Harper's Magazine, vol. 69: p. 715, Kings College; p. 813, Columbia College. 

6. The New England Magazine, Vol. II, p. 363, "Columbia College," by J. H. 

Van Amringe. 

7. The Cosmopolitan, A-^ol. VIII, p. 265, "Columbia College,"' by H. H. Boyesen. 

8. Knickerbocker Magazine, vol. 61, p. 170, "The first century of Columbia 

College." 

9. The Nation, vol. 50, p. 369, " Columbia as a university." 

10. Magazine of American History, vol. 25, p. 249, " Distinguished sons of Colum- 

bia," by President Seth Low, LL. D. 

11. New England Historical and Genealogical Register, vol. 43, p. 311, "Colum- 

bia College alumni who have held official positions," by R. H. Green. 
(Incomplete.) 

12. The Library Journal, Vol. II, p. 70, "The library of Columbia College," by 

Beverly N. Betts, librarian. 

13. The University Quarterly, A^ol. Ill, p. 41, " The library of Columbia College " 

by W. A. Jones, librarian. 

14. The American Naturalist, vol. 13, p. 502, "The geological museum of Colum- 
bia," by I. C. Russell. 

15. The International Review, vol. 12, p. 346, "Political science at Columbia Col- 
lege." by John W. Burgess, LL. D. 

16. American Architect, vol. 24, p. 251, "Architectural education at Columbia 
College. " 

7. Addresses, Pamphlets, etc. 

Statement of facts relative to the Elgin Botanic Garden, by David Hosack, M. D. 
New York, 1811. 

Francis, J. W. Address on the life of R. R. Livingston, delivered on the anni- 
versary of the Philolexian Society of Columbia College. 1831. 

Account of the celebration of the first semicentennial anniversary of the incor- 
poration of Columbia College by the legislature of New York, with the ora- 
tion and poem delivered on the occasion. 1837. 

Testimonials presented to the trustees of Columbia College in behalf of Wolcott 
. . . Gibbs. candidate for the professorship of natural and experimental 
philosophy and chemistry. 1854. ■ 

Ruggles, S. B. Duty of Columbia College to the community, and its right to 
exclude Unitarians from its professorship of x^hysical science, considered by 
one of its trustees. 1854. 

Ogden, G. M. Defense of Columbia College from the attack of Ruggles. 1854. 

Addresses of the newly appointed professors, with an introduction by W. Betts. 
1858. 

Dwight, T. W. Inaugural addresses of Dwight and G. P. Marsh in Columbia 
College. 1859. 

"Our Alma Mater Fifty Years Ago." An oration delivered before the Alumni 
Association March 14, 1861, by Judge Blatchford. 

Proceedings at the inauguration of Frederick A. P. Barnard as president of 
Columbia College. 1864. 

Centennial address by Hon. John Jay, New York. 1876. 

Proceedings at the installation of Seth Low as president of Columbia College in 
the city of New York. 1890. 

To the trustees of Columbia College. Correspondence of J. D. Van Buren and the 
president concerning the appointment of F. R. Van Buren as valedictorian. 

Four American universities— Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia. Columbia by 
Brander Matthews. 1895. 



198 HISTORY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

Local Histories. 

1. Picture of New York, by S. Latham Mitchill. New York, 1807. 

2. The Documentary History of the State of New York, arranged under the direc- 

tion of the Hon. Christopher Morgan, secretary of state, by Ed. Burke 
O'Callaghan, M. D., Vol. IV, pp. 375, 381, 466. and 635. Albany, 1850. 

3. Documents relative to the colonial history of the State of New York, procured 

in Holland, England, and France, by John Romeyn Brodhead, edited by 
Ed. Burke O'Callaghan, M. D., LL. D. Albany, 1856. General index (Vol. 
XI) sub verbo "College, Kings." 

4. Description of the City of New York, by James Hardie, A. M. New York, 

1827, pp. 218 and 275. 

5. History of the State of New York, by James Macauley. New Yoi-k and 

Albany, 1829. Vol. II, p. 85: Vol. Ill, pp. 4 and 433-434. 

6. History of New York, by William Dunlap. New York, 1839. Vol. I, pp. 483 

and 486-487; Vol. II, p. 257; appendix, miscellaneous matter, CLXXVI, 
CLXXXII, CLXXXVI, CLXXXIX, cxci, and cxcv. 

7. A Geographical History of the State of New York, by J. H. Mather and L. P. 

Brockett, M. D. Utica, 1848, p. 120. 

8. Historical Collections of the State of New York, by John W. Barber. New 

York, 1851, pp. 191 and 197. 

9. What I Saw in New York, by Joel H. Ross, M. D. Albany, 1851, p. 249 et seq. 

10. History of the City of New York, by Mary L. Booth. New York, 1863. Index 

sub verbo " Colleges." 

11. Old New York, by John Wakefield Francis, M. D., LL. D. New York. 1866. 

12. History of the City of New York, by William L. Stone. New York, 1872, 

pp. 174-179. 

13. History of New York, by Thomas Jones. New York. The New York Histor- 

ical Society, 1879. Index sub verbis ''College" and "'Kings College." 

14. History of the City of New York, by Mrs. Martha J. Lamb. New York and 

Chicago: A. S. Barnes & Co., 1880. Indices sab verbis: Vol. I, *• College, 
Kings, " Vol. 11, " Columbia College," " College of Physicians and Surgeons," 
" University of the State of New York." 

15. New York, by Ellis H. Roberts, in American Commonwealth's series. Boston 

and New York, Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 188 T. Index sub verbo: "College." 

16. The Story of the City of New York, by Charles Burr Todd. New York and 

London, 1888, pp. 179-199. 

17. Historic Towns, New York, by Theodore Roosevelt. London and New York: 

Longmans, Green & Co., 1891. Index sub verbis: "Columbia College," and 
"Kings College." 



3. UNION COLLEGE, 1795. 

[By Robert C. Alexander.] 

Union University, Andrew V. V. Raymond, D. D., LL. D., president— Union College; Albany 
Law School; Albany Medical College; Albany College of Pharmacy. 

The history of Union College is, in its origin and during its early 
years, a narrative of toil, sacrifice, faith, constancy, indomitable 
energy, and ultimate success. Long before its incorporation the 
struggle began. As early as 1779 petitions were circulated, addressed 
to the governor and legislature, in response to which a charter was 
drawn, but for some reason never signed or sealed. It recited that — 



UNION COLLEGE. 199 

Whereas a great number of respectable inhabitants of the counties of Albany, 
Tryon (Montgomery), and Charlotte (Washington), taking into consideration 
the great benefit of a good education, the disadvantages they labor under for want 
of means of acquiring it, and the loud call there now is, and no doubt will be in 
a future day, for men of learning to fill the several offices of church and state, and 
looking upon the town of Schenectady in every respect the most suitable and com- 
modious seat for a seminary of learning in this State, or perhaps in America, have 
presented their humble petition to the governor and legislature of this State, 
earnestly requesting that a number of gentlemen may be incorporated in a body 
politic, who shall be empowered to erect a college in the place aforesaid, to hold 
sufficient funds for its support, to make proper laws for its government, and to 
confer degrees. 

This institution was to liave been called Clinton College, in honor 
of New York's great governor. It" contemplated the creation- of a cor- 
porate body by an executive act, therein following the colonial prece- 
dents. Seven years later the board of regents was created, and upon 
that board thereafter devolved the chartering of New York colleges. 
The petition of the "respectable inhabitants" seems to have been 
favorably received, but the exigencies of the war probably diverted 
attention from the project, and the unsealed charter in the State 
Library at Albany contains all that is known to-day of Clinton College. 

But the widespread belief that there should be a college in Schenec- 
tady was too deep rooted to be readily abandoned. Dominie Dirck 
Romeyn, pastor of the Reformed Dutch Church in Schenectady, who 
more than any other man is entitled to be styled the founder of Union 
College, was unremitting in his efforts to secure the charter, as is evi- 
dent from his letters during the period 1779-1795. 

Again, in 1779, as appears from the assembly journal of that year, 
"a petition was received from John Cuyler and 542 inhabitants of 
Albany and Tryon counties, and from Thomas Clarke and 131 others 
of Charlotte County, for a college at Schenectady." No action seems 
to have been taken on the petition, possibly because the inhabitants 
were not so ' ' respectable " as the petitioners for Clinton College charter. 

An interesting recital is that which follows, contained in the memo- 
rial of 1795 to the board of regents: 

In the year 1782 the citizens of the northern and western parts of this State, 
together with the inhabitants of the town of Schenectady, amounting to near 1,200 
subscribers, applied to the legislature, in session in the town of Kingston, for the 
institution of a college in the town of Schenectady, for founding which the citi- 
zens of Schenectady alone proposed an estate valued at nearly eight thousand 
pounds principal. 

That is all that historj^ tells us of the application of 1782, but in the 
light of those thrilling times how eloquent it is of the spirit which 
animated the Revolutionary patriots ! The war was not yet closed. 
The smoke was still rising from the smoldering ruins of burned hab- 
itations on the northern and western borders, and the echo of the 
Indian war whoop had not yet died away in the valley of the Mohawk. 
The long struggle for liberty had left the people decimated, weary, 



200 HISTORY OF HIOHEE EDUOATIOlSr IN NEW YORK. 

and impoverished. Yet 1,200 of the citizens on the northern and west- 
ern frontier subscribed from their meager fortunes to the cause of 
higher learning, and the citizens of Schenectady alone proposed to 
contribute to the new college a sum of £8,000. The extent of this sac- 
rifice is apparent when it is remembered that by the State census four- 
teen years later the whole population of the town was but 3,472, "of 
whom 683 are electors and 381 slaves." Yet this second application, 
even with so much of heroic self-sacrifice behind it, fared no better than 
Clinton College. 

In February, 1785, measures were taken for the establishment of a 
private academy in Schenectady, by mutual agreement among leading 
citizens, and it was placed in the charge of 12 trustees. An academy 
building was erected a few years later on the northwest corner of 
what are now Union and Ferry streets. It was of brick, two stories 
high, about 50 by 30 feet on the ground plan, and cost about 13,000. 
It afterwards became Union College, and was its only edifice until 
1804. The school was opened under the care of Col. John Taylor, of 
New Jersey, and appears to have been conducted with much ability, 
being well sustained by the community in which it was planted. This 
academy was the germ of Union College. 

In December, 1791, the managers of the academy in Schenectady 
memorialized the legislature for a grant of land in the Oneida Reser- 
vation to their institution, "in order to be in possession of an estate 
that would enable them at an early day to apply to the regents for 
incorporation as a college, and to have an amount of property that 
would justify the establishment of a college." The assembly records 
show that the committee reported it to be " derogatory to the interest 
of the State to grant the request." 

In February, 1792, the trustees of the academy sent another petition 
to the regents, in which they stated that they had at that time about 
80 students in the English language, and that they had nearly 20 jjur- 
suing the study of the learned languages and higher branches, in 
preparation for the first or more advanced classes in college. They 
were fully convinced of their ability to establish and maintain a col- 
lege, and had made efforts that led them to confidently depend upon 
raising the fund needed for endowment, and asked for a college char- 
ter. As a foundation for their fund, the town of Schenectady was 
willing to convey to the trustees of a college as soon as they were 
appointed, and by good and ample title, a tract of land containing 
5,000 acres. A pledge of 700 acres more was offered from individ- 
uals, and a further subscription of near £1,000 in money, to be paid 
in four installments, was promised from citizens. The consistory of 
the Dutch Church offered to give a building called the "Academy" 
for college use, and not to be alienated, estimated as worth £1,500, 
and a sum of money collected for a library, amounting to £250, was 
likewise to be given. 



UNION COLLEGE. 201 

But as these funds could not be realized or applied unless tliere was 
created a board of trustees capable of holding them, they prayed for 
an act of incorporation from the regents, with all the powers and 
privileges conferred by law upon Columbia College, and that the 
name of the institution should be "The College of Schenectady." 

The regents, on the 27th of March, denied this application, upon 
the ground that sufficient funds had not been provided. 

Failing in this effort, an application was made in November of the 
same year for the incorporation of the private institution as the 
"Academy of the Town of Schenectady." This application was suc- 
cessful, and an academic charter was granted in January, 1793. 

Early in 1791 the regents were again petitioned for a college char- 
ter for the academj^, but this was denied upon the ground that the 
state of literature in the academy did not appear to be far enough 
advanced nor its funds sufficient to warrant its erection into a college. 

On December 18, 1791, was presented the final and successful peti- 
tion to the board of regents. It thus begins : 

We, the subscribers, inhabitants of the nortliern and western counties of the 
State of New York, taking into view the growing population of these counties, 
and sensible of the necessity and importance of facilitating the means of acquiring 
useful knowledge, make known that we are minded to establish a college upon 
the following principles: 

1st. A college shall be founded in the town of Schenectady, county of Albany 
and State of New Yoi'k, to be called and known by the name of Union College. 

2d. The said college shall be tinder the direction and government of twenty-four 
trustees, the majority of which trustees shall not at any time be composed of 
persons of the same religious sect or denomination. 

These two provisions mark a new era in college erection. Of the 
colleges which antedated Union, we find Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, and 
Williams were distinctively Congregational; William and Mary, St. 
John's, and Columbia, Episcopal ; Brown, Baptist; Princeton and 
Hami3den-Sidney, Presbyterian; Rutgers, Reformed; and Dickinson, 
Methodist. Union was the first strictly nonsectarian college in the 
country. The name itself was given as expressing the intention of 
uniting all religious sects in a common interest and for the common 
good by offering equal advantages to all, with preference to none. 
It was designed to found an institution upon the broad basis of Chris- 
tian unity, and this idea has ever since been faithfully followed in the 
spirit of the original intention, no particular religious denomination 
having at any time claimed or attempted to control its management 
or to influence the choice of trustees or faculty. Its motto, "In 
necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas," has been 
characteristic of the perfect harmony and genuine catholicity which 
has marked its entire history. 

At last success crowned the efforts of the "citizens," and on Feb- 
ruary 25, 1795, a charter was granted to Union College, naming twenty- 
four trustees, giving full power for granting degrees, and the most 



202 HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

ample guarantees against denominational control. The chronicles of 
the day record that the news of the granting of the charter, when it 
reached Schenectady, was celebrated by great rejoicing, with the ring- 
ing of bells, firing of cannon, display of flags, bonfires, and a general 
illumination. 

Next to Dominie Romeyn, to Gen. Philip Schuyler belongs the honor 
of establishing the college at Schenectady. The city of Albany had 
offered strong pecuniary inducements for making the capital the site 
of the college, but the vigorous efforts of General Schuyler so reen- 
forced the Schenectady petition that it secured the young institution 
for that town. The following letter from General Schuyler to Dr. 
Romeyn, announcing the signature of the charter, evinces the hearty 
interest he felt in the new college : 

Albany, March 2, 1795. 

Reverend and Dear Sir: On Wednesday last the engrossed Charter was sub- 
mitted to the Regents and approved of, and on Friday the seal of the University 
was affixed thereto with the Chancellor's signature, an event the more satisfac- 
tory to me, as I have long since wished to see the vicinity of my native place hon- 
ored with such an Institution, and I sincerely congratulate my fellow-citizens of 
Schenectady in particular, and the whole of the Northern and Western parts of 
the State in general, on the facility with which they will be able to obtain a col- 
legiate education for their children. May indulgent Heaven protect and cherish 
an Institution calculated to promote virtue and the weal of the people. Please to 
request the gentlemen to whom has been confided the subscription paper to the 
funds of the College, to add my name to the list for one hundred pounds. I shall 
strive to procure a donation on the part of this State, and as I have already con- 
versed with some leading members on the subject, I trust my efforts will be 
successful. The charter, with all the evidences of the funds, are, by order of the 
Regents, to be delivered to one of the trustees of the College. If Chief Justice 
Yates does not come down, they will be delivered to one of the gentlemen here, 
to be delivered to him as the first trustee named in the act of incorporation. 
I am with great regard, Reverend Sir, Your most obedient servant. 

Ph. Schuyler. 

The Rev. Dr. Romeyn. 

A subsequent act, April 6, 1795, authorized the trustees of the 
academy to convey, and those of the college to accept, the academy 
building on Union and Ferry streets, and this was accordingly done. 

The college was organized on the 19th of October, 1795, by the elec- 
tion of the Rev. John Blair Smith, D. D., of Philadelphia, as president; 
John Taylor, A. M., as professor of mathematics and natural philoso- 
phy, and the Rev. Andrew Yates, as professor of the Latin and Greek 
languages. The first commencement was held in May, 1797, in the 
old Reformed Dutch Church, and the first degrees conferred upon 
three young men who had finished the course of study then required. 
This was an occasion of signal and novel interest to all the country 
around, and drew together a large and enthusiastic audience. These 
three graduates were, Cornelius D. Schermerhorn, of Greenbush; 
Joseph Sweetman, of Charlton; and John L. Zabriskie, of Schenec- 
tady. 



UNION COLLEGE. 203 

The two latter were both living at the semicentennial of the college 
in 1845, and Rev. Dr. Sweetman delivered the anniversary address on 
that interesting occasion. 

A manuscript report of the board of regents to the legislature, March 
6, 1797, signed by Chancellor John Jay, and now in the Union College 
library, shows the progress made by the new college during its first 
two years. An extract is appended : 

UNION COLLEGE. 

From the Report of a Committee of the Trustees it appears that the Property of 
the College consists in various articles to the following amount, namely: 

Drs. Cts. 

Bonds and Mortgages produsing an annual Interest of 7 per cent . 21301 

Subscriptions and other Debts due on the Books of the Treasurer 4988 10 

Cash appropriated for the purchase of Books _ 1356 45 

House & Lot for the President 3500 

Lot for the Scite of the College 3250 

House & Lot heretofore occupied for the Academy — a donation from the 

Consistory of the Dutch Church ....... 5000 

Books &c. in the possession of the Trustees and on the way from Europe. 2381 99 
Cash appropriated by the Regents for the purchase of Eooks in the 

hands of the Committee 400 

Legacy by Abraham Yates Junr. Esq., of Albany 250 

42422 60 
and 160 acres of land. The Faculty of the College at present consists of the Pres- 
ident and one Tutor, and the salary of the former, with an House tor his Family 
is 1100 Dollars; and of the latter 665 Dollars per Annum, with an additional allow- 
ance at present of 250 Dollars on account of the extraordinary price of the neces- 
saries of life. There are thirty seven Students, eight in the Class of Languages, 
twenty in the Class of History and Belles Lettres, six in the Class of Mathematics, 
and three in the Class of Philosophy — The Course of Studies, is the first year, 
Viigil, Cicero's Orations, Greek Testament, Lucian, Roman Antiquities, Arith- 
metic, and English Grammar; the second year. Geography and the use of the 
Globes, Roman History, History of America and the American Revolution, Xeno- 
phon, Horace, Criticism, and Eloquence; the third year, the Various Branches of 
Mathematics, and Vulgar and decimal Fractions, and the Extraction of the Roots, 
Geometry, Algebra, Trigonometry, navigation, mensuration, Xenophon, contin- 
ued, and Homer; and the fourth and last year. Natural Philosophy, the Constitu- 
tion of the United States and of the different States, Metaphysics, or at least that 
part which treats of the Philosophy of the Human mind, Horace continued, and 
Longinus, and during the Course of these Studies the attention of the Classes is 
particularly required to Elocution, and to Composition In the English Language, — 
A provision is also made for substituting the Knowledge of the French Language 
instead of the Greek, in certain cases, if the Funds should hereafter admit of insti- 
tuting a French professorship; [the first optional course] all which, together with 
the System of Discipline, is contained in a printed Copy of the Laws and Regula- 
tions for the Government of the College, and which accompanies this Report. 

The Trustees farther rei ort that the officers of the College discharge their duty 
with ability, diligence and fidelity and that the Students generally have exhibited 
specimens of their progress in Science at the Examinations, which are public and 
stated three times a year; and finally that it would essentially promote the interest 
of that part of the Country if the Legislature would patronise with further dona- 
tions this infant Seminary; the want of means to endow prof essorships obliges the 



204 HISTORY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YORK:. 

present officers to attend to too many branches of Science; insomuch so that the 
President has during the present year instructed the Classes of History, Chro- 
nology, Antiquities, Geography, Natural and Moral Philosophy, Criticism, Logic, 
Constitutions of the United States and of the different States, and Languages. 

President Smith resigned in 1799, and was succeeded by Rev. Dr. 
Jonathan Edwards, the yonnger, who died in office in August, 1801. 
His successor was Rev. Dr. Jonathan Maxcy, who resigned in 1804. 

Although the college was still feeble, it was not without enterprise. 
Under the presidency of Dr. Edwards, in 1798, a new edifice was 
begun on a scale magnificent for that day. Tliis building was after- 
wards known as the "West College," located on the corner of Union 
and College streets, and was finished in 1804. It was in the Italian 
style of architecture and from the designs of Philij) Hooker, then an 
eminent architect of Albany. It was of stone, three stories high, 
besides a high basement, and was surmounted by a central cupola. 
The ground plan measured 150 bj^ 60 feet, and the original cost was 
about 156,000, besides $4,000 for the site. It contained a residence 
for the president, the chapel, library, and recitation rooms, and a con- 
siderable number of dormitories. In 1815 it was sold to the city and 
county for a court-house, jail, and city offices, and while thus owned 
it was commonly known as the "City Hall." The college received in 
payment 3,000 acres of land in detached parcels in various parts of 
Schenectady County. In 1831 it was repurchased by the college for 
110,000, and used for the library, cabinets, and residence of freshman 
and sophomore classes until 1854. It was then resold to the city for 
the sum of $6,000, and was used by the city as a union school until 
the year 1890, when it was demolished to make room for a more modern 
school building. Between 1805 and 1810 a row of two-story brick 
buildings was erected on College street for use as dormitories. It was 
known as the "Long College," and was sold about 1830. 

An event occurred in 1804 which proved to be of peculiar and last- 
ing advantage to the institution, and from which its success may be 
justly dated. This event was the choice of the Rev. Eliphalet IsTott, 
as president. Mr. Nott was then a young clergyman of Albany, known 
at the time as the eulogist of Hamilton, as an eloquent and effective 
public speaker, of dignified and courteous manners and distinguished 
learning, but not as yet known for that talent in the education of 
young men which this election gave him the opportunity^ to exercise, 
and which has never been surpassed in the history of any American 
college. Endowed by nature with a keen perception of character, a 
discriminatiug judgment in developing latent talent, a dignity of 
manner commanding both love and respect, a facility in governing 
young men, wherein the secret lay in teaching them to govern them- 
selves, and a zeal and earnestness in the discharge of every duty, he 
acquired and held through a long and active life a commanding posi- 
tion as an educator throughout the country. 



UNION COLLEGE. 205 

THE LOTTERY. 

The financial history of Union College from this period, until 1853 
forms a chapter bj^ itself — a chapter which the moralists of these lat- 
ter days would cheerfully pass over unnoticed, but the fact remains 
and must be admitted that Union College was placed on a secure 
financial foundation by a tremendous gambling device, which, if 
applied to-day, would not only place Dr. Nott and his reverend coad- 
jutors under the frown of ijublic sentiment and the ban of church dis- 
cipline, but would have landed them inside the bars of a State prison. 
We are more enlightened and conscientious than our grandfathers. 
The church fair of to-day was the lottery of the early part of the cen- 
tury. The lottery was the most beneficent institution of that day. 
Not only was it permitted, but it was especially authorized by law as 
a j)roper and legitimate method of raising money. It was regarded 
as perfectly innocent and unobjectionable, and was not only tolerated, 
but sustained and encouraged by the whole Christian community. 
Lotteries were employed to secure funds for charities, for schools, for 
hospitals, for colleges, and for churches. It must not be thought 
strange, therefore, that a Christian minister like Dr. Nott, following 
the fashion of the day, involved the aid of the popular device and 
became the successful manager of the hugest lottery deal ever author- 
ized by the State of New York. 

When the new president assumed his office the finances of the col- 
lege were in a nearly desperate condition. During the administra- 
tions of his three predecessors there had been a constant lack of funds 
to meet the regular current expenses of the college. The failure of 
Dr. Smith's expectations in this respect was one of the causes of his 
early retirement. Dr. Edwards died, after a short incumbency, 
weighed down Avith concern as to the fate of the institution placed 
under his charge. Dr. Maxcy was not more fortunate than his pred- 
ecessors, and his short administration was a continuous struggle 
with financial embarrassment, from Avhich extrication appeared hope- 
less. Less than $35,000 had been obtained from indiAddual subscrip- 
tions, and some of these were still unpaid. The State had at various 
times granted, in money or in lands afterwards sold, property which 
availed $78,112.13. The new building (West College) was still incom- 
plete and the college was badly in debt. 

At this juncture the young Albanj' clergyman assumed the presi- 
dency. He at once applied to the State for aid, and in March, 1805, 
it came in the shape of the grant of the proceeds of four lotteries of 
$20,000 each. The returns, however, were slow, and in 1806 the leg- 
islature borrowed $15,000 on the credit of the State and loaned it to 
the college, to be repaid from the proceeds of the lotteries. In 1814, 
when the lotteries were wound up, the college had realized from them 
about $76,000, which was applied toward furnishing the equipment, 



206 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

edifices, and instruction necessary for the rapidly increasing number 
of students. 

A few years' experience showed that the location in the city was 
not sufficiently ample, and the observing eye of Dr. Nott, at an early 
period in his presidency, had noticed in the suburbs a better one that 
combined in a rare degree every advantage desirable. On the eastern 
border of the city the fields rose by a gentle slope to a plain of mod- 
erate elevation and of easy access. Near the upper edge of this slope 
the construction of a terrace a few feet high would afford a level 
campus of amjjle space and a site for buildings that would overlook 
the valley, the river, and the neighboring city, while northward 
glimpses of mountains blue from distance, and southwestward ranges 
of hills dividing the waters of the Mohawk and Susquelianna rivers 
would present a panorama of peculiar loveliness. A gently murmur- 
ing brook issuing from dense woodlands flowed across the grounds 
just north of the proposed site, and in the rear alternating fields and 
groves extended several miles eastward to the Hudson. 

A half century later, in an address before the gathered alumni of 
Union who had met to celebrate the anniversary of his accession to 
the presidency. Dr. Nott thus spoke of the new college grounds : 

Fifty years ago. having been charged with the supervision of Union College, I 
stood for the first time on yon rising grounds where the college edifices now stand. 
The same range of western hills, the same intervening luxuriant flats, and the 
same quiet river winding through fields of grain whitening for the harvest then 
met the eye; the same starry firmament overspread the night, and the same 
glorious sunlight rendered visible by day, in its general outline, the whole lovely 
valley of the Mohawk. 

The immediate college grounds, however, now so symmetrical and ornate, were 
then mere pasture grounds, scarred by deep ravines, rendered at once unsightly 
and difficult of access by an alternation of swamp and sand hill, and the whole 
divided into numerous irregular compartments in evidence of different owner- 
ships. As yet neither shrub nor tree had been planted, walk traced, garden laid 
out. or edifice erected thereon. 

A tract of some 250 acres was secured mainly on the responsibility 
of the president, and new buildings begun upon plans drawn b}^ M. 
Joseph Jacques Ramee, a French engineer then eminent in this 
country and for a time emploj^ed by the National Government in 
planning fortifications and public v/orks. 

In 1890, in an old print shop in Paris, a Union College graduate 
of the class of 1880 discovered M. Ramee's original sketch of the 
ground plan of the college buildings and gardens. It bears the inscrip- 
tion, "College de I'Union a Schenectady, Etat de New Yorck, 1813," 
and is probably the original draft submitted b}'' the architect to Dr. 
Nott. This iDlan has been very closely followed in the laying out of 
the grounds and the erection of the successive college buildings. It 
shows the ground plan of the main college buildings, north and south, 
the central circular building, not completed till 1876, and the pro- 
jected semicircular building in the rear, which has still more recently 



UNION COLLEGE. 207 

taken form iu tlie Powers Memorial Building, finished in 1884. The 
two buildings at the ends of this semicircle, however, are still to be 
built. Nor has the lake in the "college pasture" or the Catholic 
cross in the garden shown on the Frenchman's plan yet materialized 
into being. The work of construction was begun in 1812, and the 
two main buildings finished in 1820, although one of them was occu- 
pied as early as 1814. These buildings were four stories high, 200 
feet by 40 feet each, and cost about $110,000. 

To meet this expense application was again made to the legislature 
in 1814. Dr. Nott was a power in Albany. His influence with legis- 
lators and before committees was another instance of that remarkable 
personal force which impressed itself upon all he met. Other colleges 
and institutions were before the legislature of 1814 as applicants for 
aid, but, satisfied that their unaided efforts would prove ineffectual, 
intrusted their cases to President Nott, who generously advocated 
their claims in the same breath with his own, and the benefits to 
Hamilton College, the College of Physicians and Surgeons, and the 
Asbury African Church in New York were included in the same 
grant as those to Union. Columbia College had introduced a bill 
intended to grant to that institution the celebrated Hosack Botanical 
Garden in New York. Convinced of the futility ot their independent 
claim for aid, the Columbia managers withdrew their special bill and 
besought Dr. Nott to take up their appeal. This he did so generouslj^ 
and vigorously that the Columbia grant was attached as a " rider " to 
his own lottery bill, and went through with it. Thus, solely through 
the influence of the president of Union, Columbia received that mag- 
nificent propert}^ which to-day forms its principal endowment. The 
botanical garden granted to Columbia comprised 20 acres located 
between Fifth and Sixth avenues. Forty-seventh and Fifty-first 
streets, in New York City, then 3^ miles out of town, but now the 
center of the wealth and population of the metropolis. In the same 
act which gave to Columbia the title to the botanical garden, it was 
provided, in recognition of the services of her sister college, that 
within one year from the passage of the act, at least one healthy 
exotic flower, shrub, or plant of each kind it contained in duplicate 
should be sent, with the jar containing it, to Union College. There 
is no record, however, that Columbia ever complied with this graceful 
suggestion for the recognition of Union's services in her behalf. 

So marked was the influence of the distinguished clerical lobbyist 
in favor of the combination bill that at the close of the act in the offi- 
cial session laws of 1814 was printed this unprecedented note: 

No bill before the legislature excited greater interest and attention than this 
act. Much credit is due to the unwearied exertions of the able and eloquent 
president of Union Co]lege in promoting its passage. 

This lottery bill granted to Union College $200,000, to Hamilton 
College $40,000, to the College of Physicians and Surgeons $30,000, 



208 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN FEW YORK. 

and to the Asbury African Churcli in New York $4,000, with interest 
for six years. 

But the managers of these lotteries, appointed by the act, were so 
remiss in selling the tickets that np to 1822 not a dollar of the prin- 
cipal had been paid to any of the beneficiaries. 

Again, therefore, the good doctor betook himself to Albany, and on 
April 5, 1822, an act was passed "to limit the continuance of lotteries." 
It recited the delay in the conduct of the concern, and authorized the 
institutions themselves to take the management of the lotteries, direct 
the drawings, receive the avails, and pay the prizes. The other ben- 
eficiary institutions, having witnessed the failure of the lotteries 
during the preceding eight years, took alarm at the responsibility this 
act devolved upon them, and refused to participate in the active man- 
agement. Not so the president of Union. With the consent of his 
board of trustees, he bought out, for a satisfactory consideration, the 
interests of all the other institutions, for which he borrowed, on his 
own responsibility, $75,000, and assumed in his own person the entire 
management of this great hazard. It was this bold act and the 
transactions which followed it, which years later brought Union Col- 
lege into the courts and into legislative investigations, and which 
caused the motives and acts of the president to be sharply arraigned. 

From this consolidated lottery Union College received in all a sum 
of $277,000. Dr. Nott had sublet to Yates & Mclntyre, a firm of 
brokers, the management of the lotteries, reserving to himself a per- 
centage of the profits from such management, which were afterwards 
found to amount to $71,691.29. In order to save the firm of Yates & 
Mclntyre from bankruptcy and from imperiling the college interests 
in the proceeds of the lottery, Dr. Nott had advanced the firm large 
sums of money by pledging his and his wife's propertj^, and had taken 
as securit}^ a bond for $150,000. It was the ownership of these two 
sums which years later gave rise to the charges against the president. 
His enemies claimed that these profits and the bonds belonged to the 
college and not to the doctor personally. This claim was, however, 
never made by the college, but by newspapers and by outsiders. The 
charges were never credited by the friends of Dr. Nott, or by the col- 
lege trustees. And the president had frequently announced his 
intention ultimately to appropriate every dollar that he derived as 
profits from the lottery transaction to the benefit of Union College, a 
promise which was eventually more than fulfilled. 

In 1849 a resolution was introduced in the assembly requiring a 
report as to the financial condition of Union College. This was 
inT3ited by the reports of newspapers hostile to Dr. Nott, charging 
that he had appropriated to his own use $560,000 of the funds of the 
college. A committee of the assembly made an examination of the 
books and reported that the ' ' financial condition of the college was 
unsound and improper." This led, of course, to a thorough investi- 



UNION COLLEGE. 209 

gation, in which Hon. "John C. Spencer, an old pupil of Dr. Nott, 
volunteered his services in behalf of his old instructor, and his 
masterl}^ argument before the commission was so eloquent and con- 
vincing as to complete the vindication of his venerable instructor of 
other years, and to remove the odium from an honored name. Dr. 
Nott completed the discomfiture of his enemies by anticipating the 
report of the legislative committee and by executing a deed of trust 
which bestowed upon the college a property then estimated at over 
$600,000, an act which only the most malignant of his enemies per- 
sisted in characterizing as the discharge of a debt, and not as a dona- 
tion. Certainly the college owes its high position among American 
colleges not only to the scholarship and the reputation of Eliphalet 
Nott, but also to his shrewdness, skill, and munificence it owes its 
largest endowment. 

The tracing to their culmination of the lotteries and the diffi- 
culties engendered by them has caused a digression from the history 
of the college itself and its progress through these years. Notwith- 
standing the number and the intricacy of the outside matters which 
claimed his attention. Dr. Nott's first interests were in "his chil- 
dren," as his pupils were afi'ectionately styled. From the time of 
the erection of the new college buildings on the hill the number of 
students steadily increased until in 1820 the number in all the classes 
exceeded 300, and the graduating class alone contained 65. In this 
class were several men who attained distinguished eminence, among 
whom were William H. Seward ; Laurens P. Hickok, who long stood 
at the head of American metaphysicians; William Kent, one of New 
York's ablest jurists; Tayler Lewis, the greatest linguist and classical 
scholar of his age, and Rev. Dr. Horatio Foote. In 1825 Union had 
passed Harvard and Yale in the number of its students, and with the 
exception of a few intervening years held for a quarter century 
the honor of being the largest college in the United States. The fame 
of Dr. Nott as an educator, the high reputation of the college, the 
excellence of its system and management drew students from all parts 
of the countr}^ to Schenectady, and large numbers came from the 
lower classes of other institutions to obtain the benefit of President 
Nott's senior lectures and receive from his hand their diplomas. The 
president drew around him and kept as his coadjutors a remarkable 
body of faithful, energetic, and learned professors, and throughout 
President Nott's unprecedented administration of sixty-two years 
the college .enjoyed the highest degree of prosperity. 

In 1845 was celebrated with great enthusiasm the semicentennial 
anniversary of the founding of the college, for which preparations 
had been made for two years previous. The occasion was one of gen- 
eral rejoicing and congratulation. Addresses were made by Rev. Dr. 
Joseph Sweetman, one of the first graduates, and by Dr. Alonzo 
3176 14 



210 HISTORY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

Potter, afterwards vice-president of tlie college. Over 500 of tlie 
alumni attended the anniversary. 

Another interesting anniversary was held nine years later on the 
completion of the half centnry of Dr. Nott's administration, July 25, 
1854. The central point of interest on this occasion was the address 
of the venerable ]3resident, which was a compact review of the labors, 
trials, and successes of the fifty years which had closed. The other 
principal orators were Hon. William W. Campbell, of Cherry Valley, 
and President Francis Wayland, of Brown University, a former pupil 
of Dr. Nott. The proceedings u^jon both these anniversary occasions 
were preserved in the form of printed memorial pamphlets. 

Before this time, however, the aged president had begun to feel the 
infirmities of advancing years, and in 1852 Dr. L. P. Hickok was 
elected vice-president, and upon him gradually devolved the cares of 
administration, although the presidency was not actually conferred 
upon him until the death of Dr. Nott in 1866. 

The prosperity of the college continued undiminished until the civil 
war burst like a storm cloud over' the country. The classes of 1860 
and 1861 were among the largest in the history of the college. Through 
nearly a quarter century the South had sent more students to Union 
College than to any other, and the class rolls of those years show rep- 
resentatives from nearly every Southern State. But as the controversy 
over the question of slaverj^ became more bitter the South gradually 
withdrew its young men from Northern institutions, and when the 
first shell broke over'Sumter the last band of Southern students then 
remaining in Union left to join the ranks of the Confederacy. ISTor 
was this the only cause of depletion. Scores of Northern students 
forsook their books to take up the musket. The college campus 
became a drill ground. The brilliant young professor of modern lan- 
guages. Prof. Elias Peissner, recruited a company on the campus and 
led them in person to the front, himself falling on the bloody field of 
Chancellors ville with a colonel's eagles on his shoulders. Over 300 
Union men became Union soldiers. 

The war was the beginning of a period of depression which lasted 
for many years. Dr. Nott died in 1866, at the ripe age of 93 years, 
and was succeeded by Dr. Hickok. He resigned in 1868, and was 
succeeded by Rev. Dr. Charles A. Aiken, of Princeton, who served 
for only two years. After a brief interregnum. Rev. Dr. Eliphalet 
Nott Potter, a son of Bishop Alonzo Potter, and a grandson of Presi- 
dent Nott, was elected to the ijresidency. Under his administration 
new endowments were received, new buildings erected, and the number 
of students increased. Under his management, however, misunder- 
standings arose between the president and the faculty and trustees, 
and he retired in 1884. On his retirement, Hon. Judson S. Landon 
became president ad interim until the election, in 1888, of Harrison 
E. Webster, LL. D. 



UNION COLLEGE. 511 

EDUCATIONAL INFLUENCE AND PROGRESS. 

There is perhaps no place more fitting than this for a brief mention 
of the services of the instructors who made Union famous and of her 
influence in the development of higher education in America. It is 
true that during the administration of Dr. ISTott he alone shaped the 
policy of the college, originated plans for its government, suggested 
and carried into effect changes when needed, and controlled its affairs 
as absolutely as any monarch who ever ruled an empire. Yet his 
rule was gentle, if autocratic. The utmost harmony prevailed in the 
councils of the faculty, and the mention of their names is sufficient 
to account for the value and popularity of the Union College course 
during his administration of sixty-two years. At the head of the 
Greek department, Union has had such instructors as Andrew Yates, 
Henry Davis, Robert Proudfit, Tayler Lewis, and Henry Whitehorne. 
In Latin, Thomas C. Reed, John Newman, Benjamin Stanton, and 
Robert Lowell. In mathematics, John Tajdor, Benjamin Allen, Fran- 
cis Wayland, Isaac W. Jackson, and Isaiah B. Price. In chemistry, 
Joel B. Nott, Charles A. Joy, Benjamin F. Joslin, Charles F. Chand- 
ler, and Maurice Perkins. In natural philosophy, Thomas Macauley, 
Alonzo Potter, and John Foster. In French and German, Pierre 
Rej^naud, Louis Tellkampf, Pierre A. Proal, Elias Peissner, William 
Wells, and Wendell Lamoroux. In natural history, Jonathan Pear- 
son and Harrison E. Webster. In rhetoric, logic, and belles-lettres, 
Thomas C. Brownell, Alonzo Potter, Laurens P. Ilickok, Nathaniel 
G. Clarke, Ransom B. Welch, and George Alexander. In Oriental 
literature, John Austin Yates and Tayler Lewis. In civil engineering, 
Frederick R. Hassler, William M. Gillespie, Cady Staley, and Win- 
field S. Chaplin. 

Union College was the first to break away from the strict and beaten 
classical course and to place scientific instruction on a plane of equal 
dignit}^ with it. At Union also originated the so-called optional sys- 
tem, which it has always exercised to a limited degree, but never to 
the extent of the license which it afterwards attained in other colleges. 
As far back as 1797 we have seen, in the report of the regents, quoted 
in the foregoing pages, the germ of this now popular system. "A 
provision is also made for substituting the knowledge of the French 
language instead of the Greek, in certain cases, if the funds should 
hereafter admit of instituting a French professorship." This profes- 
sorship, with a single exception, the first in the United States, was 
established in 1806. 

The essential features of the scientific course, as originated by Dr. 
Nott and so ably advocated by President Wayland and other of his 
pupils, was the substitution of the modern languages and an increased 
amount of mathematical and physical science in place of the Greek 
and Latin languages. It also permitted, within certain well-defined 
limits, the election of certain studies by the student. 



212 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN" NEW YORK. 

The first course of civil engineering in any American college was 
established at Union in 1845 by Prof. William M. Gillespie, and has 
ever since been successfully maintained. While it still maintains 
the classical course in all its thoroughness, the scientific instruction 
has recently been still further- developed by the establishment of 
courses in sanitary and electrical engineering. The departments of 
English and of modern languages have also been greatly strengthened, 
and the course of instruction at Union to-day compares favorably with 
that of the best New England and Ne^- York colleges. 

Union has been called the mother of secret societies. Instead of 
antagonizing and repressing'the fraternities, the authorities at Union 
have ever encouraged and fostered them. The three oldest college 
fraternities in the United States, except the venerable Phi Beta 
Kappa, which had then alreadj^ ceased to be a secret society, were 
organized at Union in 1825 and 1827. These were Kappa Alpha, 
Sigma Phi, and Delta Phi. Later on, in 1832 and 1847, Psi Upsilon, 
Chi Psi, and Theta Delta Chi established their first chapters at Union. 
The authorities have always maintained that, properly conducted, the 
fraternities were of actual benefit rather than a hindrance to college 
discipline. The fraternities now flourishing are, in the order of their 
establishment. Kappa Alpha, Sigma Phi, Delta Phi, Psi Upsilon, 
Delta Upsilon, Aplia Delta Phi, Beta Theta Pi, Phi Delta Theta, 
and Chi Psi, reestablished in 1892. The Union chapter of Phi Beta 
Kappa, established in 1817, is the Alpha or parent chapter for the 
State of New York. Another honorary fraternity, Sigma Xi, has 
recently been established, to which only the honor men of the scien- 
tific and engineering courses are eligible. Phi Beta Kappa being con- 
fined to the classical students. 

Two literary societies, the Philomathean and the Adelphic, each 
nearly a century old, divide the allegiance of the students. Each 
has a fine hall and well-selected libraTies of from 3,000 to 5,000 
volumes. 

One of the earliest of all college publications was the Floriad, piib- 
lished by the literary societies of Union in 1809. A few numbers of 
this paper are in the Boston Public Library. The various student 
publications which have followed it and survived for a longer or 
shorter period were the Students' Album (1827), The Parthenon and 
Academicians' Magazine (1832), The Union College Magazine (1860- 
1875), The Unionian (1862), The Spectator (1873), and the Concor- 
diensis (1877). The last-mentioned is now the pr-incipal college pub- 
lication, and has recently been made a bimonthly. The Garnet, so 
named from the college color, is an annual illustrated publication, 
conducted by the secret societies. 

The songs of Union form a handsome volume, Carmina Concordia, 
first collected by a member of the class of 1875, a new edition of which, 
embodying the recent songs, has since been issued by two members of 



UNION COLLEGE, 213 

the class of 1896. John Howard Payne was one of Union's earliest 
song writers, and gifted writers have from year to year added to the 
collection. A few of these songs are perennial in their fragrance and 
are always sung on festive occasions. This is especjallj^ true of the 
"Song to Old Union," composed by Fitzhugh Ludlow, of the class of 
1856, and now deceased. It is always sung on commencement day, at 
the close of the graduating exercises. The hearty good will and feel- 
ing with which returning sons join in the grand chorus — 

Then here's to thee, the brave and free 

Old Union, smiling o"er us; 
And for many a day. as thy walls grow gray, 

May they ring with thy children's chorus — 

show that the gifted poet did not attune his lyre in vain. 

The government of Union College has always been paternal, but 
characterized by the greatest freedom consistent with good results. 
The ponderous code of rules and" restrictions of the old days has long 
since gone out of print, and the only rule now promulgated at Union 
College is that recently announced in the terse language of ex-Presi- 
dent Webster, that ' ' every student should do his work and conduct 
himself like a gentleman." On these two hang all the law and the 
prophets. 

Of the nine presidents of Union, four, Presidents Hickok, Potter, 
Webster, and Raymond, were graduates of Union; Presidents Maxcy 
and ISTott bore the diplomas of Brown University, Presidents Smith 
and Edwards were Princeton men, and President Aiken a graduate of 
Dartmouth. The strict adherence of the college to the unsectarianism 
and Christian union which shaped the plans of its founders is appar- 
ent in the varying religious tenets of its several presidents. Presi- 
dents Smith, Edwards, Nott, Webster, and Raymond were Presby- 
terians, Dr. Maxcy a Baptist, Dr. Hickok a Congregationalist, and 
Dr. Potter an Episcopalian. 

BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS. 

The oldest buildings on the college grounds are the north and south 
college buildings, uniform in construction and 800 feet apart. The 
ends of each building contain residences for professors, and the cen- 
tral part, having three distinct entrances and sections, provides 48 
rooms in each college. Backward from each of these buildings run 
the two "colonnades," each 250 feet long. These contain recitation 
rooms, lecture rooms, and apparatus. The colonnades terminate each 
in a larger, square building, the north building being devoted to the 
chemical and philosophical laboratories and lecture rooms, and the 
south to the chapel, registrar's office, and natural history museum. 
The museum of natural history is one of the finest in this country, 
being exceeded in the number and variety of its specimens only by 
that of Harvard University and the Smithsonian Institution at Wash- 



214 HISTORY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

ington. It comprises (1) the extensive collections, cliiefly of marine 
animals, made by President Webster during his occupancy of the 
chair of natural history; (2) the celebrated Wheatley collection of 
shells and minerals, donated by E. C. Delavan; (3) specimens received 
from the National and State governments; and (4) contributions from 
friends and patrons of the college. 

The philosophical museum is also rich in apparatus, especially in 
instruments illustrating electricity, magnetism, light, heat, acoustics, 
pneumatics, statics and dynamics, hydrostatics and hydraulics, and 
measurements. 

The engineering department possesses the celebrated Olivier col- 
lection of models, consisting of about 50 models, representing the most 
important and complicated ruled surfaces of descriptive geometrj^ 
particularly warped or twisted surfaces. Their directrices are rep- 
resented by brass bars, straight or curved, to which are attached silk 
threads representing the elements or successive positions of the gen- 
eratrices of the surfaces. Each of these threads has a weight sus- 
pended by it, so as always to make it a straight line. These weights 
are contained in boxes sustaining the directrices and their standards. 
The bars are movable in various directions, carrying with them the 
threads still stretched straight by the weights in every position they 
may take; so that the forms and natures of the surfaces which they 
constitute are continually changing, while they always remain "ruled 
surfaces." In this way a plane is transformed into a paraboloid, a 
cylinder into a hyperboloid, etc. These models were invented by the 
lamented Theodore Olivier while professor of descriptive geometry at 
the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers, in Paris. One set of them is 
now deposited there and a second is in the Conservatory of Madrid. 
Copies of some of them are to be found in most of the polytechnic 
schools of Germany. The Union College set is the original collection 
of the inventor, having been made in part by his own hands, and after 
his death in 1853 retained by the widow till bought from her by Pro- 
fessor Gillespie in 1855. It is more complete than that in the Paris 
Conservatoire. It may be worth noticing that the silvered plates on 
the boxes, reading "Invente par Theodore Olivier," etc., were added 
by Madame Olivier after the purchase, at her own expense, as a tribute 
to the memory of her husband, her own words being: " Je tenais a ce 
que chaque instrument portat le nom du savant dont la reputation 
passera a la posterite." 

Memorial Hall, long a familiar object in the pictures, and origi- 
nally designed for a chapel, was delayed for various causes, so that the 
foundation was not laid till 1858. The war and its attendant depres- 
sions interrupted the work, which was not resumed till 1874, and the 
present domed structure was evolved in 1876. This building, situated 
midway between, and in the rear of, the two main buildings, is nearly 
circular, 84 feet in diameter, the dome rising 120 feet from the floor. 



UNION COLLEGE. 215 

It has never been of any particular use to the college, but is employed 
for the banquet hall at commencement time, and is adorned by paint- 
ings, statues, and works of art. 

A president's house was built in 1873, and in 1874 a gymnasium, 
which, when finished, was one of the largest and best equipped in the 
country. All these buildings, except Memorial Hall, are of brick, 
roughcast with stucco or cement, producing the "graj^ old walls" 
celebrated in college song. 

Some distance behind the circular building has recently been erected 
a handsome structure known as the Powers Memorial Building, finished 
in 1885. This consists of a chapel-like central building, with wings 
extending from it on either side in the form of a half circle. The 
central building forms a splendid receptacle for the 40,000 volumes 
which constitute the college library, and the wings contain the presi- 
dent's office and eight spacious and well-equipped recitation rooms. 

The development of fraternity life is gradually introducing a more 
modern architecture on the college grounds. The Psi Upsilon fra- 
ternity recently secured the grant of a lot on the college grounds, to 
the rear of South College, and has erected on it a fine chapter house, 
costing- $30,000. The Alpha Delta Phi Society has for several years 
owned a lot near the college gate, and has a considerable fund sub- 
scribed for building a chapter home, which it has decided to locate 
near the Psi Upsilon chapter house, on a circular path which is known 
as the "Grecian Bend," The Sigma Phi chapter has recently been 
enriched by a bequest of 140,000, and a building for this venerable 
fraternity is probable in the near future. Similar plans are contem- 
plated by Delta Upsilon and other of the Greek-letter societies. 

The original grounds acquired for college uses in Schenectady have 
been somewhat reduced by street improvements and the sale of lots, 
but are still amply sufficient, embracing about 125 acres, including 
the campus, gardens, and grounds properly belonging to the college 
and essential for its use, besides some 100 acres of woodlands and 
fields adjoining. 

During the residence of Prof. Thomas Macauley, more than fifty 
years ago, a beginning was made in the improvement of a garden 
north of North College. The work was, however, scarcely more than 
a beginning until Prof. Isaac W. Jackson became a resident of the 
adjoining dwelling in 1831, when a series of improvements were begun 
which, aided by a small annual grant from the trustees, have gradu- 
ally transformed a wild ravine and tangled woodland into a charming 
ramble and pleasant retreat. The grounds embrace some 12 acres, 
and combine many attractions of sylvan solitude and floral beauty. 
"Captain Jack," as the professor was affectionately styled by his 
pupils, devoted the last years of his life almost entirely to the beauti- 
fying of this garden, and under the spreading elm, which was his 
favorite resort, were held his funeral ceremonies at his death in 1877. 



216 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK, 

Besides the real estate in Schenectady the college owns a few lots in 
the city of New York and a large tract, comprising over 1,300 city 
lots, in Long Island City. This tract was received under the deed of 
Dr. Nott, and is of great value, already yielding the college a consid- 
erable annual income. The constant growth of Long Island City, its 
probable connection with New York City in the near future by tun- 
nel or bridges, and its inevitable consolidation with the metropolis 
unite to make the college real estate of immense prospective value. 

The trustees of the college are, by its charter as amended, the gov- 
ernor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, comptroller, treasurer, 
and attorney-general of the State, ex officio, thirteen chosen for life by 
the board of trustees, and four elected, one each year for a term of four 
years, by the alumni. The present trustees, exclusive of the ex officio 
members, are Silas B. Brownell, Rev. Dr. Wm. Irvin, Hon. Judson S. 
Landon, Hon. Edward W. Paige, Wm. H. H. Moore, Rev. Dr. Denis 
Wortman, Hon. John H. Starin, Clark Brooks, John A. De Remer, 
Rev. Dr. George Alexander, Robert C. Alexander,^ Hon. Warner Mil- 
ler, N. N. V. Franchot, S. K. Williams, Col. Charles E, Sprague, 
Howard Thornton, and Wallace T. Foote. 

The faculty as now constituted is made up as follows: A. V. V. 
Raymond, D. D., LL. D., laresident; John Foster, LL. D., Nott pro- 
fessor (emeritus) of natural history; Henry Whitehorne, LL. D., Nott 
professor of the Greek language and literature; William Wells, LL. D. , 
professor of modern languages and literature and lecturer on current 
history; Maurice Perkins, A. M., M. D., professor of analytical chem- 
istry; Sidney G. Ashmore, A. M., L. H. D., professor of the Latin 
language and literature; James R. Truax, A. M., Ph. D., professor 
of the English language and literature ; Thomas W. Wright, A. M. , 
Ph. D., professor of applied mathematics and physics; Frank S. Hoff- 
man, A. M., professor of mental and moral philosophy; Benjamin H. 
Ripton, A. M., Ph. D., professor of history and sociology, and dean; 
Olin H. Landreth, A. M., C. E., professor of civil engineering; 
James L. Patterson, Sc. D., professor of mathematics; Samuel B. 
Howe, Ph. D., adjunct Nott professor, principal of Union school; 
Albert H. Pepper, A. M., assistant professor of modern languages; 
James H. StoUer, A. M., professor of biology; Edward Everett Hale, 
jr.. Ph. D., professor of rhetoric and logic; Philip H. Cole, A. M., 
assistant professor of English; Edwin H. Winans, A. M., assistant 
professor of mathematics; Homer P. Cummings, instructor in sur- 
veying; Wendell Lamoroux, A. M., librarian and lecturer; C. P. 
Linhart, M. D., instructor in physiology and physical education; 
Geo. V. Edwards, A. M., instructor in Latin and Sanskrit; Howard 
Opdyke, A. B., instructor in mathematics and phj^sics; Elton D. 
Walker, B. S., instructor in engineering; John I. Bennett, A. M., 
instructor in Greek, besides a corps of 36 lecturers. 

1 Deceased, 1900. 



UNION COLLEGE. 217 

^he general catalogues of Union College contain a list of names of 
which both the college and the country may well be proud. In the 
total number of its graduates it stands at least fourth, and perhaps 
third, among American colleges. The number of its alumni is nearly 
double that of any other college in New York State. Its graduates 
have become prominent in every profession and walk in life. Among 
the number have been a President of the United States, two Secre- 
taries of State, two justices of the United States Supreme Court, ten 
Senators, two Speakers, and one hundred and thirty members of the 
House of Representatives. Thirty-six college presidents have had 
their educational ideas molded at Union and have transplanted 
them to other institutions. One-fifth of the whole number of judges 
elected to the bench of the court of appeals and of the supreme court 
in New York State have been Union College graduates. 

The general alumni association was organized and incorporated in 
1857, and local associations have been formed in New York City, 
Albany, Chicago, Rochester, St. Paul, Boston, San Francisco, and 
Washington. The New York association has over 500 members. 

ELECTIVE COURSES. 

"Elective courses, not elective studies" were declared by the late 
President Webster in a recent address to be the present policy of 
Union College. There are, it is true, a considerable number of elec- 
tive studies arranged in the latter stages of each course, but the aim 
has been rather to increase the number of definite, well-arranged 
courses than to enlarge the list of optional studies in the courses. 

Union now offers, in its academic department, one A. B. course, one 

B. S. course, one Ph. B. course, three B. E. courses, and one graduate 

C. E. course. These courses are distinguished as follows: 

COURSES OF STUDY. 

[Beginning September, 1895.] 

1. Course leading to the degree of A. B. — This is the usual classical course. Aftei' 
the sophomore year the work is largely elective. French and German are included 
in addition to the ancient languages. Students may pursue additional studies in 
other courses. 

2. Course leading to the degree of Ph. B. — This differs from the A. B. course 
chiefly in the omission of Greek and the substitution therefor of additional work 
in modern languages and science. 

S. Course leading to the degree of B. S. — The modern languages are here substi- 
tuted for the ancient, and the amount of mathematical and English studies is 
increased. After the sophomore year a large list of electives is offered. 

4. General course leading to the degree of B. E. — This course is intended to give 
the basis of an engineering education, including the fundamental principles of all 
special branches of the profession, a knowlege of both French and German,' and a 
full course in English. 

5. Sanitary coiirse leading to the degree of B. E. — This differs from course -4 in 
substituting special work in sanitary engineering for some of the general engineer- 
ing studies. 



218 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

6. Electrical course leading to the degree of B. £■.— This differs from course 4 in 
substituting special work in electricity and its applications in place of some of 
the general engineering studies. 

7. Graduate course in engineering leading to the degree of C. E.—A course of one 
year offered to graduates of course 4, 5, or 6. 

The arrangement of studies in the course leading to the degree of 

A. B. is as follows: 

FRESHMAN YEAR. 

FIRST TERM. 
Hours 
per week. 

4 Greek — Xenophon or Homer. 
4 Latin. 

2 English, (Clearness; study of words.) 
4 Solid geometry. 

1 Physiology. 

1 Physical culture. 

Greek prose composition. 

Latin prose composition. 

SECOND TERM. 

4 Greek — Xenophon, Homer, or Herodotus. 
4 Latin. 

3 English. (Past and present; rhetoric, intellectual qualities.) 

4 Algebra. 

1 Physiology. 

1 Physical culture. 

Greek prose composition. 
Latin prose composition. 
One extemporaneous essay — an abstract. 

THIRD TERM. 

4 Greek — Xenophon, Herodotus, or Euripides. 
4 Latin. 

3 English— rhetoric, emotional qualities. 
3 Trigonometry. 

2 History. 

1 Physical culture. 

Greek prose composition. 
Latin prose composition. 
One extemporaneous essay — an amplification. 

SOPHOMORE YEAR. 

FIRST TERM. 
Hours 
per week. 

3 Greek— Euripides or ^schylus. 
3 Latin. 

3 English— Chaucer and the early poets. 
3 Analytic geometry. 
3 French. 

2 History. 

1 Physical culture. 

Greek prose composition. 

Latin prose composition. 

One formal essay — descriptive. 

One extemporaneous essay— narrative. 



UNION COLLEGE. 219 



SECOND TERM. 

3 Greek — Etiriiiides or ^schylus. 

3 Latin. 

3 French. 

2 Englisli — Shakespeare and the dramatists. 

2 History. 

3 Logic. 

1 Physical culture. 

Greek prose composition. 
Latin prose composition. 
One formal essay — expository. 
One class oration. 

THIRD TERM. 

3 Greek — Euripides, Sophocles, or Plato. 

3 Latin. 

3 English — the essayists. 

3 French. 

3 Biology. 

1 Physical culture. 

Greek prose composition. 

Latin prose comi)osition. 

One extemporaneous essay — expository. 

One class oration. 

JUNIOR year: 

FIRST TERM. 
Hours 
per week. 

3 German. 

2 English — prose fiction and modern poetry. 

4 Mechanics. 

2 History. 

5 Elective. 

One extemporaneous discussion. 
One formal essay^argumentative. 

SECOND TERM. 

3 German. 

3 Physics. 

4 Psychology. 

2 History. 
4 Elective. 

One formal essay — argumentative. 
One class oration. 

THIRD TERM. 

3 German. 

3 Physics. 

4 Ethics. 

3 Geology. 
3 Elective. 

One extemporaneous discussion. 

One chapel oration. 



220 HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDUCATIOISr IN NEW YOEK. 

SEOTOR YEAR. 

FIRST TERM. 
Hours 

per week. 

3 Economics. 
3 Logic. 
10 Elective. 

One extemporaneous discussion. 

One extemporaneous essay — argumentative. 

SECOND TERM. 

3 Sociology. 
3 Astronomy. 
10 Elective. 

One formal essay — argumentative. 

One chapel oration. 

THIRD TERM. 

3 Sociology. 
13 Elective. 

One formal essay— argumentative. 

The B. S. course differs from the above arrangement in the elimi- 
nation of the Greek and Latin and the substitution of the modern 
languages with an increased amount of mathematics and English 
studies. The Pli. B. course eliminates the Greek only, and inserts 
the modern languages and the mathematics of the B. S. course, 
increasing the amount of English studies. The B. E. course retains 
all the mathematics, modern languages, and advanced studies of the 
other courses, and includes also drawing, surveying, field work, archi- 
tecture, calculus, sanitary and electrical engineering, hydraulics, etc. 

REQUIREMENTS FOR EXAMINATION IN 1895. 

I. Candidates for admission to the freshman class in any of the regular courses 
will be examined: 

1. In English. — English Grammer; Bain's Higher English Grammar, West's 
English Grammar, and Strang's Exercises in English are recommended. A short 
English composition will be required to test spelling, punctuation, use of capitals, 
paragraphing, and grammatical purity. 

No candidate will be admitted whose written work is seriously defective in 
these respects. 

2. In mathematics.— Arith.m.ei,\c; algebra, through quadratics; plane geometry. 
II. Candidates for admission to the freshman class in the course leading to the 

degree of A. B. will be examined in addition: 

1. In Latin.— hsitin grammar, Allen and Greenoughs (or an equivalent), includ- 
ing prosody; Csesar, four books, or Arrowsmith and Whicher's First Latin Read- 
ings (preferred); Vergil's ^neid, six books; Cicero, six orations; Sallust's Catiline 
or Jugartha; Daniell's Exercises in Latin Composition, Part I (or an equivalent); 
H. T. Pecks Latin Pronunciation. 

2. In G'reefc.— Goodwin's Greek Grammar; Goodwin's Greek Reader, 100 pages 
(or an equivalent); Xenophons Anabasis, four books; Homer's Iliad, three books. 

(The attention of instructors is particularly directed to the student's need of a 
full and accurate knowledge of the Greek and the Latin grammar. Deficiency in 
this knowledge will prevent admission.) 



UNION COLLEGE. 221 

3. In history, — Greek and Roman history, including ancient geography, 
Those intending to pursue the above course should enter at the beginning of the 
freshman year fully prepared; without such preparation, time and strength needed 
for regular studies are consumed in making up deficiencies. If, in their prepara- 
tion, candidates have time to spare, it is desirable for obvious reasons that they 
should not anticipate the college studies. 

III. Candidates for admission to the freshman class in the course leading to the 
degree of Ph. B. will be examined as in II, except that an equivalent amount of 
French or German ma)^ be substituted for Greek. 

IV. Candidates for admission to the freshman class in the course leading to the 
degree of B= S., in addition to the subjects in I, will be examined: 

1. In modern geography. 

2. In history of the United States, to the close of the civil war. 

3. In rhetoric — Nichol's Manual of English Composition, or an equivalent. 

4. In English literature— The general course of development of English litera- 
ture, as presented in Stopford Brooke's or Kellogg's English Literature, Pancoast's 
Introduction to English Literature, or an equivalent. 

5. In solid geometry. 

V. Candidates for admission to the freshman class in any of the courses leading 
to the degree of B. E. will be examined as in IV. 

The marking system is in vogue at Union, the highest mark for 
term work being ten, and any mark below six fails to sustain a stu- 
dent. The ten highest grades for the whole course entitle the seniors 
taking them to appointments at commencement. 

To a large class of students Union College presents extraordinary 
advantages in its numerous scholarships. Under an act jjassed in 
1814 the sum of $50,000 was set apart as a fund the income of which 
has ever since been applied in aiding young men of narrow means, 
and thus multitudes have gone out into active life well prepared who 
but for this would have failed to receive a thorough education. This 
aid is granted without reference to the intended profession and with 
the sole object of accomplishing the greatest good. Other bequests 
of $50,000 each for the same purpose were made by the late Miss 
Catharine L. Wolfe and Dr. John McClelland, of New York. Still 
further scholarships (some of which, however, are not yet available) 
were provided by the trust deed of President Nott, who designated 
$125,000 to be set apart for the endowment of several grades of prize 
scholarships. In the scholarships of the first grade the incumbents, 
on the condition of good conduct and satisfactory application to study, 
receive at the end of each term a credit on the books of the registrar 
to the full amount of the term bill. These scholarships are accessible, 
under certain restrictions, to all who present the requisite certificates 
of character and sustain the examinations required for admission to 
the regular classes of the college. 

The college offers a series of annual prizes, w^hich are awarded at 
each commencement. These are — 

(1) The Blatchford oratorical prizes of $40 and $30 each, awarded 
to the two members of the graduating class who deliver at commence- 
ment the best orations. 



222 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

(2) The Warner prize of the value of $50 is awarded to the senior 
who shall have attained the highest standing and who shall also sus- 
tain the best character for moral rectitude and deportment. 

(3) The Ingham prize of $70 for the best senior essay on an assigned 
subject in English literature. 

(4) The Allen prizes of 125, $20, and $15, respectively, for the best 
senior essays on subjects assigned. 

(5) The Clark prizes of valuable books, awarded to the writers of 
the two best junior essays on assigned subjects in English literature. 

(6) The Robert C. Alexander prize of $50 for the best extempora- 
neous speech at a public competition, the topic being assigned imme- 
diately before the competition. 

(7) Two oratorical prizes are annually awarded to the two juniors 
and the two sophomores who deliver the best orations on the occasion 
of the ijrize-speaking* contest in commencement week. 

(8) Engineering prize. — A prize is offered by the class of 1889 for 
three j'^ears, beginning in 1893. It will be awarded to the member of 
the graduating class in the engineering course who presents the best 
thesis. 

(9) Allison-Fooie prize. — Founded by George F. Allison, of New 
York City, and Hon. Wallace T. Foote, of Port Henry, N. Y., for the 
encouragement of debate in the literary societies. The prize consists 
of $100 in cash, and is to be awarded as the result of a public compe- 
tition between representatives of the Adelphic and the Philomathean 
literary societies. Fifty dollars will be awarded to the society pre- 
senting as a whole the strongest argument. The remaining $50 will 
be awarded to the debater who makes the best single speech, regard- 
less of his society relation. 

(10) Tlie Oilbert K. Harroun prize. — A prize consisting of $50 in 
gold has been established by Mr. Gilbert K. Harroun, treasurer of 
Union College, to be awarded at commencement to that member of the 
graduating class who shall iDresen^ the best thesis on an assigned sub- 
ject in sociology. The thesis must contain not less than 3,500 nor 
more than 4,000 words, must be typewritten, and must be presented 
on or before June 1 to the professor of history and sociology. The 
committee of award is appointed by the donor. 

The exercises of commencement are always held on the fourth 
Wednesday in June. Ten of the graduating class deliver orations, and 
the exercises are concluded with an oration hy the honorary chancellor, 
selected for that purpose by the board of trustees. Among the recent 
honorary chancellors have been Hon. George William Curtis, Hon. 
John K. Porter, Hon. Alexander H. Rice, of Massachusetts; Rev. Dr.. 
R. S. Storrs, Hon. Charles E. Smith, late United States minister to 
Russia; William H. McElroy, of the New York Tribune; Gen. Daniel 
Butterfield, Hon. Pliny T. Sexton, Hon. Charles T. Saxton. Hon. 
Joseph M. Carey, and Bishop Henry C. Potter. 



UNION COLLEGE. 223 

IFnion College commanded a great deal of attention by reason 
of the course of lectures which was established at that institution 
by Maj. Gen. Daniel Butterfield, of New York (class of 1849). His 
scheme was remarkable in its wide scojje and in the number and 
character of the lecturers, and in the great eminence of many of them. 
The purpose of the course of lectures was to give to the students in the 
college a glimpse of many practical problems and to present to them 
from the highest quarters lessons in the tasks and duties of citizen- 
ship. General Butterfield not only assumed the whole pecuniary 
responsibility, but secured a score of gentlemen whose names were 
assurance of the marked success of the project. 

The value of such a glimpse of great questions, presented by speakers 
who have won distinction in their many different fields, is by itself 
a liberal education. The college can not fail to receive very great 
advantage from it, both in the number of its students and, in what 
is of very much more account, in the elevation of its spirit and in the 
practical character of its training. 

The course was marked out to extend over about three years, as 
follows : 

THE BUTTERFIELD LECTURE COURSE. 
THE WEST POINT MILITARY ACADEMY. 

Its foundation, history, and purposes; its course and system of training; its 
unwritten code of honor, and the benefit of its training and discipline for any 
vocation in life. What it has done for the country in both military and civil life. 
What of it may be common to all educational institutions. 

1. By Gen. P. S. Michie, professor of mathematics and dean of the faculty of the 
West Point Military Academy. 

2. By Gen. Horace Porter. 

POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES. 

The necessity for and the duty of young men in familiarizing themselves with 
political and T>arty usages and customs, and in participating in primary elections 
and caucuses; party government in the United States; the higher duties of 
American citizenship. 

3. By Hon. William McKinley. jr., governor of Ohio. 

4. By Hon. Thomas F. Bayard, ex-Secretary of State. 

THE DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR SERVICE. 

The customs and usages of diplomacy, and how to become familiar vs^ith them. 
What has been accomplished for the United States by its diplomacy. 

5. By Hon, Andrew D. White, ex-president of Cornell University, and United 
States ambassador to Germany. 

6. By Hon. Frederick W. Seward, '49, formerly Assistant Secretary of State. 

ELECTRICITY. 

Its properties and latest development. 

7. By Albon Man, '49. 



224 HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN ISTEW YOEK. 

JOURNALISM AND THE PRESS. 

How college men may best qualify themselves for the profession. 

8. By Hon. Charles A. Dana, editor of the New York Sun. 

9. By William H. McElroy, LL. D., '60, editor of the New York Tribune. 

WEALTH AND ITS USES. 

The practical value of a college training for business men. 

10. By Andrew Carnegie. 

11. By Hon. Chauncey M. Depew. 

COLLEGE WORK AS A PREPARATION FOR THE DUTIES OF LIFE. 

12. By Hon. Warner Miller, '60. 

13. By Gen. Daniel Butter field, '49. 

TRADE SCHOOLS — THE ELEVATION OF LABOR — INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION. 

14. By Col. R. T. Auchmuty. founder of the Nev/ York trade schools. 

15. By Prof. Rossiter W. Raymond. 

BANKING AND FINANCE. 

Currency and its political economy. 

16. By Hon. George S. Coe, president of the American Exchange Bank of New 
York. 

AMERICAN FINANCE. 

17. By Senator John Sherman. ex-Secretary of the Treasury. 

ART AND ARCHITECTURE. 

Honesty and truth in their purpose and expression. 

18. By Montgomery Schuyler, -'34. 

THE POLITICS AND DIPLOMACY OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S ADMINISTRATION. 

19. By Gen. Daniel E. Sickles. 

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE WEST AND SOUTH. 

•' Westward the star of empire takes its way." 

20. By Hon. Charles F. Manderson, United States Senator from Nebraska, and 
President pro tempore of the Senate. 

OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES. 

21. By Rev. Edward Everett Hale, D. D. 

COURTS-MARTIAL — MILITARY LAW— MARTIAL LAW. 

The suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. Respective jurisdictions of the 
State and Federal courts in war and peace. 

22. By Maj. John W. Klous, U. S. A., judge-advocate and professor of law, 
West Point Academy. 

MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT. 

23. By Hon. Seth Low, ex-mayor of Brooklyn, and president of Columbia College. 

24. By Abram S. Hewitt, ex-mayor of New York. 

THE DUTIES OF A GOVERNOR AND HIS WORK. 

25. By Alex. H. Rice, '44, ex-governor of Massachusetts. 



UNION COLLEGE. 225 

THE MASSING OF POPULATION IN THE TENEMENT HOUSES OP CITIES— THE 
PROBLEM OF THE FUTURE. 

26, By Hon. Bourke Cockran, M. C. 

37. Farming on a large scale. — By Hon. Lyman R. Casey, United States Senator 
from North Dakota. 

28. Canada and the Great North Land. — By Erastus Wyman. 

29. Relation of brain to muscle. — By Dr. William A. Hammond. 

30. Lecture. — By Hon, John Wanamaker, ex-Postmaster-General. 

There were offered 30 prizes of $25 each for the best essay upon 
the subject of each of the lectures, and prizes of the value of $125, 
$60, and $30, respectively, upon the first, second, and third best 
series of j)apers upon the entire course of lectures. For the first, 
second, and third best papers upon any single lecture in the course 
prizes of $75, $40, and $20 each were given. In addition to the 
student prizes a i)rize of $150 was awarded to the private school 
or private teacher to whom the greatest number of prize winners 
shall have ascribed his college preparation. 

Although Union College is an eleemosynary institution to so liberal 
an extent, its greatest present need is for unrestricted funds to be 
applied to general objects. Its largest endowments are trusts entailed 
to a particular purpose, as is the case with so many other of the older 
colleges of the country. An endowment fund for the establishment 
of new professorships or for increasing the salaries attached to exist- 
ing chairs would be of substantial benefit. A handsome beginning 
in this direction was recently made by the gift to the college of 
valuable real estate in Plattsburg, N. Y., the annual income of which 
(about $6,500) is designated for the establishment of a professorship 
of political economy and social science. The donor is Mr. Thomas 
Armstrong, of Plattsburg. Other needs of the college are for new 
dormitories to accommodate the yearly increasing number of stu- 
dents and a hall for commencement and other public purposes simi- 
lar to that latel}^ provided for Princeton by the munificence of Mrs. 
Charles B. Alexander. 

UNION UNIVERSITY. 

'Union University embraces the following institutions : Union Col- 
lege, Albany Medical College, Albany Law School, Dudley Observa- 
tory, Albany College of Pharmacy. 

Union College acquired by its original charter full university pow- 
ers, but the creation of graduate institutions at Schenectady was not 
found practicable. Schools of law and medicine and also an astro- 
nomical observatory had existed at Albany, only a few miles distant, 
for many years previous to 1873. The arrangement naturally sug- 
gested b}^ these circumstances was that the professional schools and 
the observatary at Albany should be united with Union College under 
the charter and board of trustees of the latter. This was accordingly 
3176 15 



226 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION" IN NEW YORK. 

effected by tlie incorporation of Union University in 1873. Tlie Al- 
bany College of Pharmacy was created by the board of regents June 
21, 1881, and incorporated as a department of the university August 
21 of the same year. ^ 

The president of Union College and permanent chancellor of Union 
University has the oversight of the university, each of the institutions 
having its resident dean. The university board ot governors is com- 
posed of certain of the permanent trustees of Union College and of 
representatives of each of the other institutions embraced in Union 
University. 

The election of Dr. Harrison E. Webster as president in May, 1888, 
began a new era of progress and development in the history of Union 
College. He had been a member of the faculty from the time of his 
graduation in 1868 to the year 1883, and the members of twenty suc- 
cessive classes had carried away with them not only the highest respect 
for Professor Webster's ripe scholarship and his rare qualities as an 
instructor, but also a personal regard which was generally sincere 
affection for him as a personal friend. His election to the presidency 
of the institution to which he had given a lifetime of self-sacrificing 
devotion was therefore hailed with universal joy and enthusiasm. 

President Webster served the college till January, 1894, when, by 
reason of ill health, he presented his resignation, which was accepted 
with many expressions of regret and of appreciation for his valuable 
services to his alma mater. 

Early in 1894 the trustees selected as the successor of President 
Webster Rev. Dr. Andrew V. V. Raymond, a graduate of the class of 
1875, and at that time pastor of the Fourth Presbyterian Church of 
Albany. There are many who link this coincidence with the youth, 
the enthusiasm, the oratorical ability, and the remarkable personal 
influence of Dr. Raymond, and draw a i3arallel between President 
Nott and President Raymond. Not since the war has the old college 
experienced such a period of prosperity and of hopeful enthusiasm 
as since the inauguration of President Raymond, which occurred in 
June, 1894. The classes have doubled in numbers, the teaching force 
has been largely increased, new endowments secured, and the standard 
of scholarship constantly elevated. 'New interest and enthusiasm have 
been inspired among the alumni and complete harmony exists in the 
college councils. 

The celebration of the centennial anniversary of the charter of 
Union College was an event which stirred the loyalty and kindled the 
enthusiasm of every alumnus. Two years before preparations had 
been begun, looking to a fitting celebration of this interesting event. 
At the commencement of 1894 the organization of working committees 
was completed, and the year which followed was filled with busy 
preparations for the great event. The exercises extended over a 
period of five days, commencing Sunday, June 23, 1895. The ceuten- 



ITNIOW COLLEGE. 227 

iiial programme was opened on Sunday morning by the memorial 
sermon of Rev. Dr. George Alexander, '66, pastor of the University 
Place Presbyterian Church in New York. In the afternoon a reli- 
gious conference was held on religion and education, in which clergy- 
men of the Reformed, Methodist, Baptist, EpiscoiDalian, Presbyterian, 
and Roman Catholic denominations, respectively, took part, thus 
typifying, in a peculiarly impressive manner, the nonsectarian pur- 
poses of the college. The same evening the baccalaureate sermon was 
preached by Right Re V. William C. Doane, Episcopal bishoj) of Albany. 

On Monday morning and afternoon an "educational conference" 
was held, in which pai4i was taken by Secretary Melvil Dewey, of the 
board of regents; Superintendent Maxwell, of Brooklyn; Principal 
Bancroft, of Phillips Academy, Andover ; President Scott, of Rutgers ; 
President Andrews, of Brown, and President Taylor, of Vassar. The 
conference was continued in the evening, and the invited speakers 
were President Oilman, of Johns Hopkins; President Low, of Colum- 
bia; President Hall, of Clark University; President Harper, of Chicago 
University, and Chancellor MacCracken, of the University of the City 
of New York. 

On Tuesday, June 25, was held the annual meeting of the alumni, 
of whom over 600 were in attendance during the celebration. At the 
centennial banquet held in Memorial Hall President Raymond pre- 
sided, and fraternal greetings from sister colleges were presented in 
eloquent addresses by Chancellor Anson J. Upson, of the State board 
of regents; Prof. George Herbert Palmer, of Harvard; President Pat- 
ton, of Princeton; President Andrews, of Brown; Prof. Henry Parks 
Wright, dean of Yale College ; Prof. John Haskell Hewitt, of Williams ; 
Prof. Charles F. Richardson, of Dartmouth; Prof. J. H. Van Amringe, 
dean of Columbia College; Prof. William MacDonald, of Bowdoin; 
Prof. John Randolj^h Tucker, of Washington and Lee; President 
Scott, of Rutgers; Prof. Oren Root, of Hamilton; Prof. Anson D. 
Morse, of Amherst; President Taylor, of Vassar, and Chancellor 
MacCracken, of New York University. 

In the afternoon of Tuesday, June 25, the class-day exercises of '95 
were held in the college garden, and a reception was given bj^ Presi- 
dent and Mrs. Raymond. In the evening commemorative exercises 
were held, presided over by Rev. Dr. Charles D. Nott, '54, at which 
addresses were given by Judge George F. Danforth, '40, and Rev. Dr. 
Stealy B. Rossiter, '65, while the centennial poem was read by 
VlUiam H. McElroy, LL. D. 

A unique feature of the celebration was that on Wednesday morn- 
ing, June 26, consisting of a flag raising with an artillery salute. The 
exercises, which were held in the open air, were presided over by 
Gen. Daniel Butterfield, '49; Maj. Austin A. Yates, '54, made an elo- 
quent and patriotic oration, and a poem was read by Col. Weston 
Flint, '60. On the same morning exercises typifying "Union College 



228 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUOATIOIS" IN NEW YORK. 

in professional life," presided over by Hon. William PI. H. Moore, '44, 
were held under a tent on the camijns, and addresses on behalf of the 
three learned professions were made by Rev. .Dr. Teunis S. Hamlin, 
'67; Maj. J. V. R. Hoff, M. D., '71, and Hon. J. Newton Fiero, dean of 
the Albany Law School. The alumni banquet was held at noon in 
Memorial Hall, j)resided over by Hon. Amasa J. Parker, '63, president 
of the General Alumni Association, at which speeches were made by 
representatives of the decennial classes and others. 

In the afternoon of June 26 ^as held the celebration of the semi- 
centennial of the engineering school of Union College, at which 
addresses were made by Cady Staley, '65, president of the Case School 
of Ai)plied Science; Hon. Warner Miller, '60; Gen. Roy Stone, '58, 
and Prof. O. H. Landreth, '76. 

The exercises of Wednesday evening were especially interesting. 
They were presided over hy Hon. John Gary Evans, '83, governor of 
South Carolina; Hon. David C. Robinson, '65, and Hon. Charles 
Emory Smith, '61. At this ceremony was first played the Union Col- 
lege Centennial March, composed by John T. Mj^gatt, '58. 

The centennial ceremony was concluded on commencement daj^, 
June 27, when, following the orations of graduates, a brief address 
was made by President Eli]3halet Nott Potter, of Hobart College, and 
the chancellor's oration was delivered by Right Rev. Henry C. Potter, 
bishop of New York. 

Thus closed the first century of Union College, a century of useful- 
ness, of progress, and of development. The second century opens 
with the happiest auguries for the future^ — a future bright with hope 
and promise. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF UNION UNIVERSITY. 

Charter. 1855, 1882. 

Laws. 1871. 

Code. 1880. 

West, C. E. Address on the fiftieth anniversary of the class of 1832. 

Class op 1884. Decennial record. 

Memorial Volume. An account of the tricentennial class meeting held at the 
college, June 24, 1884. 

Philomathean Society. First semicentennial anniversary, held at Union 
College July 25, 1848. 

First Semicentennial Anniversary. Celebrated July 22, 1845. 

Seymour, Horatio. University address. July 2, 1873. 

Celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of Dr. Nott's Presidency of 
Union College. July 25, 1854. 

Delavan, E. C. Communication to the board of trustees of Union College. 
1869. 

Wells, W. Scribner, 12: 229. 

Wells, W. Harper, 31: 809. 



HAMILTON COLLEGE. 229 

HAMILTON COLLEGE, 1812. 

Hamilton College, at Clinton, had its origin in the Hamilton-Oneida 
Academy, chartered by the regents January 31, 1793, upon petition 
of Samuel Kirkland, Jonas Piatt, Eli Bristol, Erastus Clark, Joel 
Bristol, Sewell Hopkins, James Dean, an<J Michael Myers. The 
founder of the enterprise was the Rev. Samuel Kirkland, whose name 
leads in the list of i^etitioners. He had spent the best portion of his 
life as a missionary to the Oneida Indians, and in the treaty held with 
this tribe in 1788 he received with his two eldest sons valuable lands 
amounting to 4,750 acres. Of this he gave several hundred acres for 
the endowment of an institution of learning, and in the preamble of 
this conveyance he set forth his motives as follows: 

A serious consideration of the importance of education and an early improve- 
ment and cultivation of the human mind, together with the situation of the fron- 
tier settlement of this part of the State, though extensive and flourishing, yet 
destitute of any well-regulated seminary of learning, has induced and determined 
me to contribute of the ability wherewith my Heavenly Benefactor hath blessed 
me, toward laying the foundation and support of a school or academy in the town 
of Whitestown, county of Herkimer, contiguous to the Oneida Nation of Indians, 
for the mutual benefit of the young and flourishing settlements in said county 
and the various tribes of confederated Indians, earnestly wishing the institution 
may grow and flourish; that the advantages of it may be extensive and lasting, 
and that under the smiles of the God of Wisdom and Goodness it naay prove an 
eminent means of diffusing useful knowledge, enlarging the bounds of human 
happiness, aiding the reign of virtue, and the Kingdom of the Blessed Redeemer. 

The deed conveyed several parcels of land, one lot being declared 
inalienable, which has since been held as the site of Hamilton Col- 
lege, the remainder being left to be disposed of as the trustees might 
deem proper. Mr. Kirkland died February 28, 1808, having witnessed 
the first stage of fulfillment of his hopes in an academj^ and the first 
efforts toward its enlargement as a college. 

The academic charter was granted January 31, 1793, under tlie 
name and with the trustees that had been proposed in the petition. 

Operations were commenced as soon as the means could be provided 
and before enough had been raised to complete the academic build- 
ing first erected. The resources of the country were feeble, the set- 
tlements new, and many of the settlers were j)Oor. In 1795 the place 
was visited by a committee of the regents, consisting of Andrew King 
and John McDonald, and on the 3d of November, 1795, they reported 
the academy as in the following condition. They said that — 

There is a frame of an edifice designed for an academy erected about a year 
ago, and it is partly inclosed. It is situated a mile and a half from the flour- 
ishing village of Clinton, on the Oriskany Mountain. It appears difficult of access 
and too distant from families where students might be accommodated with lodg- 
ing and board. The frame is eighty-eight feet long, forty-two feet wide, and 
three stories high; has cost the trustees £1,000, and by the estimation will require 
for its completion upwards of £2,000 more. The trustees have been compelled to 
interrupt the work for want of money. 

That there is a small schoolroom at the foot of the mountain, half a mile from 



230 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION" IN NEW YOEK. 

the academy, in which scliolars have been formerly taught, but no teachers have 
been employed nor schools kept by the trustees since September, 1794. 

That the trustees have not yet framed a system for the education and govern- 
ment of the institution nor established rates of tuition. Board may be obtained 
in the village of Clinton at eight shillings per vs^eek. ^ 

That the funds of the institution consist of 425 acres of land in the neighborhood 
of the academy, chiefly uncultivated, and of $400 on a subscription not collected. 
An incumbrance of §1,000 has been laid on the lands by the trustees for the pur- 
pose of enabling them to raise the frame of the academy. 

That your committee, from the present state of the institution, judged ic inex- 
pedient to employ any part of the donation appropriated to ifc by the board in the 
purchase of books or apparatus, mathematical or philosophical, during the present 
year. 

Your committee further beg leave to remark the necessity of strict attention to 
the accommodations which applicants possess before they receive an act of incor- 
poration. The impoverished and languishing state of the academies in general 
which they visit compel them to make this observation. 

November 3, 1795. Andrew King. 

J. McDonald. 

The trustees, after encountering many difficulties, were able to 
report, on the 31st of December, 1799, that they had comjDleted so 
m uch of their building as was sufficient for the accommodation of a 
large school, and that they had procured the services of Mr. John 
Niles, from Greenfield Academy, Massachusetts, as an instructor. 
He had brought with him a letter of ample recommendation from 
President Dwight, of Yale College, and had opened a school on the 
26th of that month. There were nearly twentj^ scholars already 
admitted, and the number was increasing daily. 

On the 27th of Februarj^, 1800, the trustees described their house 
as covered and painted, and that five rooms were finished. It had cost 
about $5,000, for $2,000 of which they were indebted. It would 
require $3,000 to complete the unfinished rooms and erect the chim- 
neys, which were not yet built. Their property consisted of two tracts 
of uncultivated land, worth about $600, but still unproductive. This 
did not include the academy and 17 acres of land adjoining, which 
was improved and fertile. 

The following letter from Thomas R. Gold to James Cochran, dated 
January 29, 1800, has interest in this connection: 

Sir: In answer to the inquiry relative to the present state and condition of 
Hamilton-Oneida Academy, I have to communicate: That however unfavorable 
the condition of the academy was on the last visit of the committee of the regents, 
yet at this time the friends of literature witness with pleasure the most flattering 
change in the prospects of this academy. This change commenced about fifteen 
months ago. 

This institution is mostly finished, several rooms being completed and occupied. 
About fifty students are taught the Greek, Latin, and English languages, under 
the direction of Messrs. Niles and Murdock, two able instructors, who came 
highly recommended by President Dwight. As one of the trustees of this acad- 
emy permit me to solicit, on behalf of this institution, a visit from the regents.' 



' Historical and Statistical Record of the University of the State of New York, 
etc. Franklin B.. Hough, M. D., Ph. D., 1885. 




KIRKLAND COTTAGE. 




HAMILTON ONEIDA ACADEMY. 



HAMILTON COLLEGE. 231 

THE REV. SAMUEL KIRKLAND, FOUNDER OF THE ACADEMY. 

The following extracts from an Interesting article in the University- 
Magazine for April 1890, give a vivid account of the character of the 
founder and of his efforts for the better education of the Indians and 
the white inhabitants of New York's western frontier: 

Interwoven with Hamilton's early history are many interesting legends con- 
nected with the life of the founder of the college, Samuel Kirkland; but of all the 
stories of those early days there is one, told for the first time not long ago, which 
has more than ordinary interest and beauty. 

Samuel Kirkland was a missionary to the Six Nations, and he had not labored 
long among the Oneidas before he had not only won their confidence, but also their 
love. Throughout all the Oneida nation, the " gentle paleface" had not a single 
enemy. He was the bearer of the Gospel's story, the wise counsellor, the sympa- 
thetic friend. And so it was natural, both in times of joy or of sorrow, that he 
should share in the merry-making or the mourning. 

There came a day in the Oneida nation when to mourn was the lot of all; for 
Thranatiska, gentlest and most beloved maiden of all in the nation, was dying. 
It was a day in early spring, and as the warm afternoon wore on to its close the 
"White Father," as Dr. Kirkland was sometimes called, came to talk with the 
maiden of the Great Spirit, and the happy hunting-grounds of her fathers; and as 
he talked, very gentle and very simply, the great dark eyes grew more lustrous 
and the face seemed to gather more of beauty. Finally the maiden faintly spoke: 
"Master, Thranatiska does not fear the great Spirit; you have taught her to love 
Him. But the people I love are not so. Oh! Master, be kind to my people, make 
them all as great and as good as yourse'f ; and Thranatiska, in her happy home, 
will always bless you. " The ' ' White Father " promised to care for her people, and, 
together they began to say " Our Father," but the maiden's voice grew fainter and 
fainter, and the missionary said the "Amen" alone in the presence of the dead. 

And this is the legend of the founding of Hamilton, for Dr. Kirkland never for- 
got to do what he could for Thranatiska's people. They must be educated, and so 
the Hamilton-Oneida Academy was founded. This grew into the noble college, 
and old Hamilton's sons revere the memory of Samuel Kirkland and dwell linger- 
ingly sometimes upon the story of Thranatiska. 

It is the truth of history that the devoted missionary was a faithful friend of 
the Indians. He gave his whole life for them. It is probable that his interest in 
them was increased by his association with the Indian youths at Dr. Wheelock's 
Indian School, Lebanon, Conn. Dartmouth College grew out of that school. 
Doubtless the cordial relations which have always existed between Dartmouth 
and Hamilton have their origin in the fact that both colleges are the outgrowth of 
schools established to educate Indians. Indeed, the Dartmouth College "yell" of 
to-day seems to echo the Indian whoop, with which the campus of that institu- 
tion once resoiinded. Dartmouth and Hamilton were born in the same wigwam; 
therefore they smoke the pipe of peace and set a good example to Harvard and 
Princeton. 

Miles Standish, the Indian fighter, was one of the progenitors of Samuel Kirk- 
land; but Kirkland was a man of peace. After his boyhood studies at Lebanon 
were completed, he entered Princeton College. While yet a student there his 
heart burned within him as he thought of the untutored children of the woods. 
"It was in January, 1765, when he was a student not yet twenty-four j^ears old, 
that he left Johnstown and plunged into the wilderness. On that cold winter 
morning, one hundred and twenty-five years ago, he had a weary journey before 
him. With his two Indian guides he was to travel 200 miles, his feet shod with 
snowshoes and on his back a pack of 40 pounds; his path, the trail in the snow 



232 HISTORY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

made by the feet of his dusky leaders. He carried the germ and potency of Ham- 
ilton College. If the institution ever drifts from its Christian moorings how 
unworthy it will be of its early history." No small part of the load which Kirk- 
land and his guides carried in their knapsacks through the wilderness consisted 
of choice treatises on Biblical learning. 

His work was among the Six Nations, "the Romans of America." He built 
with his own hands a log house in an Oneida Indian village. To this house he 
brought his bride, a niece of President Wheelock, of Dartmouth. They journeyed 
by boat up the Mohawk River and on horseback through the woods to Oneida, 
his wife on a pillion behind her husband. In this Indian village his two sons were 
born. One of them, John Thornton Kirkland, afterwards became distinguished as 
president of Harvard College. During the Revolutionary war Kirkland was for a 
time chaplain in the American army. It also fell to him to endeavor to keep the 
Six Nations in a state of neutrality — to '-astutely hold back those bloodhounds of 
war when they were eager to league with the forces of England to exterminate our 
infant settlements in central and western New York." The State of New York 
and the Oneida Indians made him a grant of valuable land in Oneida County in 
recognition of his faithful services. The eastern boundary of this plot has been 
marked by a granite shaft, erected on College Hill by the class of "87. 

It was probably in 1791 that Kirkland built the small frame house which has 
been moved to the college campus and is known as Kirkland Cottage, "the cradle 
of Hamilton College." The cottage contains one family room, with ample fire- 
place, and three sleeping rooms. It was the "first sample of clapboard archi- 
tecture " on the Kirkland patent. In this cottage door he sat, nearly a century 
ago, on Sabbath evenings in the presence of his swarthy, unconverted Bible class, 
some of whom had walked 80 miles to hear him. Here he received distinguished 
visitors. Indian chiefs and orators came to confer with him. Governor Clinton 
and Baron Steuben were his guests, as were also Timothy Dwight and Jeremiah 
Day when they were in central New York on a long vacation ride on horseback 
from Yale College. 

When Kirkland was maturing his plans, he visited Philadelphia and conferred 
with the public men there, among whom was Washington, who became deeply 
interested in the proposed academy. Hamilton, the Secretary of the Treasury, 
and Postmaster-General Pickering furnished substantial aid. Hamilton was one 
of the trustees named in the petition for incorporation. In honor of him it was 
named Hamilton-Oneida Academy. A charter was granted January 31, 1793. 
Kirkland labored earnestly to secure funds for the building. In the college memo- 
rial hall is the original subscription paper, at the head of which is the following: 
"Samuel Kiri^land, £10 0, and fifteen days' work; also 300 acres of land for the 
use and benefit of the academy, to be leased, and the product applied towards the 
•support of an able instructor." 

On July 1, 1794, the corner stone was laid by General Steuben, "the brave old 
warrior, who had come in our country's hour of trial to discipline her rude 
soldiery." 

Among those present in 1794, when the corner stone was laid, was Schenandoa, 
the venerable Oneida chief. " His hair was white with unmelting snows." Kirk- 
land lived long enough to see the institution he had founded enter upon its mission 
of wide usefulness. Those trained within its walls were going forth " to walk 
conspicuous in the world's light. " The devoted missionary died in 1808, lamented 
by every friend of education and Christianity. Schenandoa sank into the sleep of 
death on the 11th of May, 1816, aged about 110 years. In the twilight of his life 
he said: " I am an aged hemlock. The winds of a hundred winters have whistled 
through my branches. I am dead at the top. " He requested that his grave might 
be made near Kirkland's. " Bury me beside my white father, so that I may cling 
to the skirts of his garments and go up with him at the great resurrection." 



HAMILTON COLLEGE. 233 

FOUNDING OF THE COLLEGE. 

In 1805 application was made to the regents for a collegiate charter, 
which was, however, denied on the claim that the academy possessed 
inadequate means. 

Another unsuccessful petition was presented to the regents in 1811, 
in which the statement was made that a fund of 115,000 might easily 
be procured. 

At the same session, and at about the same time, Kingston Academy renewed 
the application made by it long before for incorporation as a college, and both 
applications were referred to the same committee. They reported that in their 
opinion no college ought to be started with a fund less than $50,000 in amount, 
which neither of the applicants possessed. But aside from this, and upon the 
theory that this sum could be raised, there were questions of expediency and the 
general welfare of literature that should be duly considered. Perhaps another 
college might properly be founded in the western district at no distant day, and 
when this should be done every question having reference to location should be 
carefully considered. With respect to the middle district, the want was not so 
apparent, but if decided uxjon, Kingston would be the preferable place. Upon the 
11th day of March, 1811, both petitions were denied and the friends of Hamilton- 
Oneida Academy were delayed for the time, but not without hopes of better suc- 
cess at no distant day.' 

In January, 1812, printed petitions were circulated, addressed to 
the regents, and of the following form : 

The Memorial and Petition of Respectfully Sheweth: 

That if, to accommodate the citizens of the Eastern and Southern districts, a 
College has been founded and organized in each of these great divisions of the 
State, no good reason can be assigned why the western district, which exceeds 
them in population and extent, should not be invested with a similar privilege. 

That the time has arrived when, in the opinion of your petitioners, the interests 
of the public require the incorporation of a College in the County of Oneida. In 
support of this opinion your petitioners beg leave to state that by examining the 
relative position and circumstances of the several counties in the Western district, 
and by adverting to the course of trade and the route of communication between 
the remote parts of this State, it would appear that no county westward of Albany 
and equally central combines the advantages of extensive business, of concentrated 
population and of expeditious communication with the extreme sections of the 
district in an equal degree with the county of Oneida, 

Your petitioners further represent to your Honorable Board that in regard to 
the actual site of the contemplated College, Hamilton-Oneida Academy in the vil- 
lage of Clinton presents, in their opinion, stronger claims for an act of incorpo- 
ration than can be offered by any other situation in the country, because should it 
be proposed to establish a College elsewhere, a violent competition would inevi- 

' The academic report of 1811, the last one they had occasion to make, showed 
an attendance of 150, of whom 5 were in reading and writing, 76 in English gram- 
mar, 30 in mathematics, 30 in the dead languages, 25 in logic, rhetoric, and com- 
position, and 2 in moral philosophy. Value of lot and building, $11,525; of other 
real estate, $2,357; of personal estate, $850. and of apparatus and library, $447; 
tuition, $740, being from $8 to $12 per annum to each student. Principal Seth 
Norton, with salary of $650, and Eli Eddy, A. B. , as assistant, with $340. Library, 
about 200 volumes, etc. 



234 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

tably arise between the several villages whose situation might be thought adapted 
to the conveniences and wants of such an institution , because that Academy is the 
oldest Seminary of learning in the Western District, and because in it, both Clas- 
sical and Mathematical literature have been as extensively cultivated as in any 
similar institution in the State. 

Your petitioners, therefore, respectfully pray the Regents of the University to 
invest Hamilton Oneida Academy with collegiate powers and privileges, and from 
the great liberality of the inhabitants living in its vicinity, and from the strong 
interest extensively created in its behalf, no apprehension can reasonably be 
indulged that the institution will be suffered to languish for want of adequate 
support. If the proximity of Union College be adjudged as an objection to the 
prayer of your petitioners, they respectfully reply that a complete refutation 
of the objection may be found in the fact that several of the American Colleges 
have a still greater proximity to each other, and are nevertheless in flourishing 
circumstances. ... 

Some opposition arose to this measure bj^ those interested in the 
advancement of Fairfield Academy to a college, and Oneida Castle was 
mentioned by others as a preferable site. Efforts were at the same 
time being renewed at Kingston, but these did not prevent favorable 
action upon the application from Hamilton Oneida Academy. Reso- 
lutions to this effect were passed on the 10th of March, 1812, upon 
condition that funds should be raised which should, with those oh 
hand, amount to $50,000. 

This condition being met by valid subscription, the draft of a char- 
ter prepared by Chief Justice Kent was reported May 26, and ordered 
to be issued. Its yearly income was limited to $13,333^. The per- 
sons proposed in the foregoing memorial were appointed first trustees, 
with power to fill vacancies that might occur in their number, and 
the powers, privileges, and duties of the board were defined in detail. 
The president of the college was to hold his office during good beha- 
vior, but all other officers at the will of the trustees. The college 
might confer such degrees as were usually granted bj^ any college or 
university in Europe. 

The financial agent employed in getting subscriptions was the Rev. 
Caleb Alexander, long the successful principal of Fairfield Academy, 
and the benefactors of the college were widely scattered throughout the 
then settled part of the State. Stephen Van Rensselaer, of Albany, 
gave $1,000, the largest item, and Governor Tompkins gave $500. 

There appears to have been an intention of making this a seat of 
medical as well as classical education, for in the recommendations of 
the first committee on college officers, besides a professor of chemistry 
and mineralogy, there was proposed to be one of surgery and anatomy, 
one of the institutes of medicine, and one of obstetrics. 

PRESIDENTS OP HAMILTON COLLEGE. 

[Quoted from the Public Service of New York (1882), Vol. III.] 

Hamilton College has had eight presidents, all men of various learning, of intel- 
lectual strength and Christian integrity, and all ordained mmisters of the Gospel 



HAMILTON COLLEGE. 235 

by Presbyterian or Congregational bodies. Five of them were graduates from 
Yale College, one from Glasgow University, one from Dartmouth, and one from 
Amherst. 

The first president of the college, Rev. Dr. Azel Backus (Yale, 1788), had won 
high distinction as a preacher and classical teacher in Bethlehem, Conn. He loved 
his pupils, and treated them with paternal tenderness. In the class room he was 
independent of the text-book and used the resources of his own mind. His 
greatest power, however, was revealed in the pulpit. His address at the funeral 
of the Sachem Shenandoa, in the old white meetinghouse of Clinton, was full of 
genuine pathos. Dr. Backus died suddenly in December. 1816, aged 52. A vol- 
ume of his sermons, with a brief sketch of his life, was published in 1824. Twenty- 
five graduates, in three classes, received diplomas signed by President Backus. 
Fourteen graduates of the class of 1817 received diplomas signed by Prof. Seth 
Norton. 

In 1817 Rev. Dr. Henry Davis (Yale, 1796), then president of Middlebury Col- 
lege, was elected to succeed President Backus. At the same time he received and 
declined an election to the presidency of Yale College, to succeed Dr. Timothy 
Dwight. Dr. Davis was inaugurated as the second president in the fall of 1817. 
This administration covered a period of sixteen years. They were years of min- 
gled sunshine and disaster, closing with full classes in 1833. Two hundred and 
fifty-five graduates received diplomas with his signature. He died in 1852, aged 
82, having lived nineteen years in retirement and constant ill-health. 

The third president. Rev. Dr. Sereno Edwards Dwight (Yale, 1803), was elected 
in the fall of 1833 and resigned in 1835, after giving diplomas to 33 graduates in 
two classes. Like his preeminent father, Timothy Dwight. the third president 
was a finished scholar and a brilliant preacher. Perhaps the most important 
question he was called to deal with was that of removing the college to Utica. 
He enlisted with the advocates of removal, and the final decision that the college 
must remain where its founder had placed it may have had something to do with 
his early resignation. President Dwight died in 1850, aged 67, after many years of 
bodily suffering. 

The fourth president. Rev. Dr. Joseph Penney (Glasgow, 1813), was elected in 
1835. He had been remarkably successfiTl as a teacher at Flushing. Long Island, 
and as a pastor at Rochester, N. Y., and at Northampton, Mass. His large knowl- 
edge in every branch of science and literature made him a pleasant companion 
and a valuable instructor. He resigned in the winter of 1839, after giving diplo- 
mas to 44 graduates in three classes. His last years were spent in Rochester, 
where he died in 1860. 

The fifth president, Dr. Simeon North (Yale, 1825), was promoted from the 
chair of ancient languages, which he had filled for ten years. During his long 
administration of eighteen years decided advances were made in all that con- 
tributes to the substantial worth, vitality, and usefulness of a college. President 
North resigned in 1857 after conferring diplomas upon 556 graduates in nineteen 
classes. 

The sixth president. Rev. Samuel Ware Fisher (Yale, 1835), took charge of the 
institution in 1858. With restless energy and enthusiasm President Fisher devoted 
himself to bringing the college into closer sympathy with the community, and thus 
increasing its jDatronage and means of usefulness. He introduced the study of 
the Bible as a part of its regular curriculum. 

His addresses before religious bodies were frequent and impressive. After con- 
ferring degrees upon 226 graduates, in eight classes. President Fisher resigned his 
office in July, 1866, to accept a call to the pastorate of Westminister Church, in 
Utica. He resigned his pastorate in January, 1871, and died in Cincinnati, Ohio, 
January 18, 1874. 



236 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

The seventh president, Rev. Dr. Samnel Gilman Brown (Dartmouth, 1831), was 
called in 1866 from Dartmouth College, which he had faithfully served for twenty- 
seven years, first, in the chair of oratory and belles-lettres, and next in that of 
metaphysics and political economy. He entered upon the president's duties in the 
spring of 1867. As a teacher President Brown held the highest rank. His ser- 
mons were models of vigorous and polished thinking and writing. His Life of 
Rufus Choate was favorably received on both sides of the Atlantic. He resigned 
in 1881 and was succeeded by Rev. Henry Darling, D. D., LL. D. 

President Darling made earnest efforts during his administration to 
increase the endowment of the college and to broaden the scope of its 
work in harmony with the general educational tendency of the time. 
The efforts to increase the propertj^ of the college met with considerable 
success. 

In 1892, Dr. Darling was succeeded by the Rev. Melancthon Wool- 
sey Stryker, D.D., then pastor of the Fourth Presbyterian Church, of 
Chicago. Upon his inauguration in January, 1893, a special resolu- 
tion was passed by the trustees commending Prof. Edward North, 
L. H. D., for his services as acting president, from April 21, 1891, 
after President Darling's death, to the beginning of Dr. Stryker's 
presidency in November, 1892. 

During the presidency of Dr. Stryker the curriculum has been some- 
what further developed and reorganized. The present condition of 
the college will appear in the following description of the courses of 
instruction, scientific collections, grounds and buildings, library, etc. 

COURSES OF INSTRUCTION. 

These are two, the classical and the Latin-scientific, each occupying 
four years and ordinarily requiring an attendance upon not less than 
three recitations daily. It is intended that the two courses shall be 
equivalents in work demanded. Each of them, by the ample electives 
of the later two years, can be so modified as to satisfj^ widely varying 
individual preferences. 

Their prime object is to form habits of alert and accurate thinking 
and to cultivate the arts of critical and effective expression. This 
vigorous and extended discipline of the mental and moral powers is 
sought through introduction to the leading facts and principles in 
literature and language, and in historical, philosophical, and physical 
science. The elements of Biblical and Christian knowledge are dili- 
gently taught. 

University specialization is not attempted in any department, but 
thorough general introduction is given and a solid foundation is laid 
for graduate work. 

In both courses term essays are required, as follows: For the first 
term, freshman and sophomore, these are in the department of English 
literature, and for the second term, freshman and sophomore, in the 
department of rhetoric; but in these second terms a prize essay upon 
one of the assigned subjects will be accepted in place of the terra essay. 



HAMILTON COLLEGE. 237 

Appointments in tlie gymnasium, under tlie physical director, are 
required of all underclassmen. 

In all cases two hours of laboratory work count as one hour of 
recitation. 

The classical course leads to the degree of bachelor of arts, and the 
Latin-scientific course, omitting all Greek and affording increased 
room for the i3hysical sciences and for English studies, leads to the 
degree of bachelor of science, or of literature, or of philosophj^, accord- 
ing to qualification. 

Graduates of three years' standing, who have continued their stud- 
ies, are entitled to the degree of master of arts upon application to the 
president. 

Resident graduates may receive the degree of M. A. by continuing 
their studies for one year under the direction of the faculty. They 
must, under approval, choose two related subjects, offer an extended 
thesis in one subject and meet a formal oral examination in both. 

Students who have taken their A. B. degree at any other college 
with equivalent course may also become candidates for the degree of 
M. A. upon one year of strictly resident study. All resident gi-aduate 
students will be charged for rent and tuition at undergraduate rates. 

The fee for the second degree and diploma is $5, payable in advance. 

Seniors and juniors may choose one or more of their studies for each 
term from the electives of an earlier year, if such studies have not 
been previously taken. 

A student not returning his elective card properly filled within the 
time named upon t'he card will have studies assigned to him by the 
faculty at their next regular meeting, unless before that meeting he 
shall present to the faculty a properly filled card, together with a 
satisfactory excuse for his delay. 

No student may change an elective later than the Wednesday next 
before the opening of the term, and only then upon written applica- 
tion, made to the faculty before 3 p. m., and by them duly approved. 

SCIENTIFIC COLLECTIONS. 

The Knox Hall of Natural History has been reconstructed after 
plans furnished by Mr. Frederick H. Gouge (70), of Utica, from the 
fund bequeathed by the late Hon. James Knox, LL. D., of Knoxville, 
111. The new building contains two spacious exhibiting rooms and a 
large lecture room, and also convenient storage and working rooms. 

A specialty is made of the minerals from this State, and a large case 
is filled with them, a few from the same horizon in Canada being added. 
Among these may be found many unusual specimens, some of which 
are the finest known of their several kinds. By vote of the trustees 
this collection has been set up as a special tribute to Dr. Root, and is 
named the Oren Root collection of New York State minerals. 



238 HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

The geological and mineralogical cabinets and the collections in 
natural history include the following : 

2,500 specimens of fossils and rocks to illustrate the geology of New York. 

1,750 specimens to illustrate the geology of the United States. 

600 fossils, mainly from the silurian formations of Europe. 

10.000 specimens of ores and minerals. 

2,000 specimens of land, fresh water, and marine shells. 

300 specimens in ornithology from China. 

Plants from China, presented by the Jate S. Wells Williams. 

A case of birds from the Transit of Venus expedition. 

300 specimens of Oneida County birds. 

The Barlow collection, including 13,000 specimens in entomology, presented by 
the Hon. Thomas Barlow, of Canastota. 

Judge Barlow has supplemented the recent gift of his large entomological col- 
lection by a fine group of specimens in ornithology and comparative anatomy. 
The college collections are extensive and important, and now quite fully represent 
the fauna of Central New York. 

The Rev. Henry Loomis (class of '66), of Yokohama, has contributed 391 speci- 
mens of Japanese insects, and a rare collection of Japanese shells. 

By the liberality of the late Hamilton White, of Syracuse, the college collections 
were enriched by the herbarium gathered by the lace Dr. H. P. Sartwell, of Penn 
Yan, and well-known in scientific circles as a large and useful exhibition of our 
North- American flora. This herbarium is the result of fifty years of botanical 
study, search, and correspondence. 

All the above specimens are accurately classified and labeled, 
securely mounted, and orderly arranged. They include a total of 
346 specimens of North American birds ; 279 foreign birds ; 58 mam- 
mals; 3,354 flowering plants, and 395 ferns. 

GROUNDS AND BUILDINGS. 

The college is situated to great advantage at the very center of the 
State of New York. It is in the town of Kirkland, Oneida County, 
directly adjoining the village of Clinton, and with its easy access to 
great lines of travel it is at once rural and suburban. The city of 
Utica, where every train of the New York Central makes a stop, Is 
but 9 miles northeast of Clinton, in plain view from College Hill, and 
can, if necessary, be reached by carriage in an hour. Utica is also a 
station upon the West Shore, and is the terminal of the Rome and 
Watertown, and of the Binghamton branch of the Delaware and 
Lackawanna. The connection between Clinton and Utica is by the 
Ontario and Western. By the same railway New York City (Wee- 
hawken station) is distant 226 miles. 

The site of the college is exceptionally fine. The air is pure and 
dry, and the prospect is one of great natural charm. 

The college stands upon a broad plateau, 300 feet above the valley 
and 900 feet above the sea, the hills rising high in the background to 
still wider prospects. It faces the sunrise and overlooks the beautiful 
valleys of the Oriskany and the Mohawk, and the noble ranges of hills 
beyond. 



HAMILTON COLLEGE. 239 

The harmonious landscape, the retired elevation, and the historic 
scene furnish an environment of ideal fitness for the training of large 
thought and high purpose. 

The campus occupies a portion of the original government grant to 
Samuel Kirkland, which lay a little west of the line of property, fixed 
November 5, 1768, by treaty at Fort Stanwix between Sir "William 
Johnson and the Six Nations. The intersection of the highway (at 
the middle of "Freshman Hill") by this treaty line is marked by an 
enchiseled stone erected by the class of '87. 

The campus is a park of 42 acres adorned with stately and valuable 
trees. The Lombardy poplars were set out between the years 1804 
and 1808 by the Rev. Samuel Kirkland; the older elms in 1830, by 
Othniel Williams, then treasurer of the college; and the groups of 
maple and ash before the dormitories, in 1836, by President Penney. 

The southeastern portion of the campus, made attractive by the 
first memorial class tree (the elm of '56), contains also the group of 
hardy conifers known as the Gridley pinetum. This collection owes 
its extent and variety to the fostering of the late Rev. A. Delos Grid- 
ley (class of '39), and of his associate curators, the late Prof. Oren Root, 
sr., and the late John C. Hastings. The mementos of graduating 
classes have given to many points of the campus a peculiar interest. 

The college cemetery, whose care is provided for by a fund given 
by the late Samuel A. Munson, of Utica, has this year been amply and 
thoroughly improved under the kind contributions of Mrs. C. C. 
Goldthwaite. 

Upon the western side of the campus there is a fine athletic field, 
with a circular track (the gift of the class of '88), and ample baseball 
and football grounds. A covered stand has been erected here by the 
good will of Albert H. Chester, Sc. D., sometime professor of this col- 
lege. There are also excellent tennis courts. 

The present curators of the college grounds, by the appointment of 
the board of trust, are Messrs. Stryker, Hudson, O. Root, Benedict, 
and Brandt. Much attention has this year been given to the general 
care and improvement of the campus. The expenses incident to this 
work have been generously borne by Frank S. Weigley, esq. (class of 
'75), of Chicago, HI. 

Of the elder college buildings South College, with rearranged inte- 
rior (1873), is now Hungerford Hall. North College, extensively and 
soundly rebuilt and finished most attractively and conveniently 
within (1884), is now named Skinner Hall, in recognition of the ample 
enabling gift by William H. Skinner, esq., of Vernon Center. The 
cabinet is now (since 1885) Knox Hall, with heightened roof and 
with abundant interior room and conveniences for the valuable col- 
lections and their exposition. 

Southernmost of all the college buildings (1889) stands Silliman 
Hall, for which members of the college Y. M. C. A. are indebted to 



240 HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

our greatest recent benefactor, one of the trustees of tlie college, 
Horace B. Silliman,LL. D., of Cohoes. The building is handsome, 
spacious, and well-arranged, with parlors, reading room, and all 
appropriate conveniences. It is heated by steam and is well lighted 
at the expense of a permanent fund given by Dr. Silliman. 

"Old Middle" has been remodeled (1891) into a noble modern 
gymnasium. This work was liberallj^ provided for by Messrs. Arthur 
W. Soper, M. S., of New York City, and Alexander C. Soper ('67) and 
James P. Soper, of Chicago, as a memorial of their father, the late 
Albert Soper, of Chicago. By the recent kindness of Mr. Arthur W. 
Soper a new mathematical room has just been finished upon the first 
floor of this building. 

The second story of the building, in one hall, is used for a track- 
room and for the practice-cage of the baseball battery. The third 
story, which includes under its truss-roof the formed fourth story, 
is the gymnasium proper. The building is lighted vfith gas, well 
warmed, and equipped with ample apparatus. 

As a memorial of the late John Newton Beach, jr., sometime a 
member of the class of '94, a beautiful arbor has just been built by 
his father, John Newton Beach, of Brooklyn (class of '62). It is a 
most attractive structure, with deep-set battered walls of n^tr 3 
rough-hewn limestone, ceiled with Georgia pine in natural finish, and 
cedar-shingled. The interior walls, window seats, and floor are all 
of stone. The seats are of oak timber. The structure measure^ 20 
by 18 feet and spans the walk at the head of "Sophomore Hill," and 
about five rods above the site of the old arbor. It is picturesque and 
commands fine glimpses of valley and hill. With its air of perma- 
nence and dignity it offers a suitable introduction to the upper path, 
and to its present tender associations the years will add those of 
romance. The kindness of Dr. Edward North has allowed the arbor 
to be built upon his land, and again we are indebted for an effective 
architectural result to the filial assistance of Mr. Frederick H. Gouge 
(class of '70), of Utica. 

THE LIBRARY. 

The Perry H. Smith Library Hall was completed in 1872. It con- 
tains a stea^dily-growing library, which is increasingly a practical 
working force. The books are classified and arranged under the 
Dewey system. The card catalogue has just now been completed. 

The library is open every college week-day from 9 o'clock to 12, and 
from 2 to 5. Students are allowed free access to the alcoves. Tables 
and chairs are arranged for their convenience and the librarian and 
his assistant are ready to give counsel in any line of reading and 
research. Books from the reference library, and those reserved by 
request of instructors as collateral reading, may be drawn only at the 
close of the library hours and must be returned upon the opening of 



HAMILTOISr COLLEGE. 241 

the library. Other books may be retained, not more than three at a 
time, for t^\'o weeks, and may then be dra-wn anew if not applied for 
by another. 

The library contains the following special collections: 

The William Curtis Noyes Law Library of 5,000 volumes. 

The Edward Robinson Library of 2,000 volumes. 

The Charles H. Truax Classical Library of 1,250 volumes. 

The Edward Danforth section in education has 1,000 volumes; the Munson sec- 
tion in German and French, 850 volumes; the Mears section in philosophy, 250 
volumes; the Tompkins section in mathematics, 175 volumes; the class of 1890 
section in political science, 86 volumes; the Soper section upon the tariff, 100 
volumes. 

There were added during the year ending June 1, 1893, 1,875 volumes and 3,092 
pamphlets. Of these, 1,001 volumes and 2,827 pamphlets were by gift from 183 
sources. 

The total of June 1, 1894, was 32,860 volumes and 11,991 pamphlets. 

HONORS. 

There are 40 permanent scholarship endowments, with incomes of 
from $60 to $100. Mr. Samuel H. Jardin, of Philadelphia, has given 
14,000 for a permanent scholarship. (TEher scholarship'f unds include 
the recent gift of 13,500 by Mr. Theodore S. Hubbard, of Geneva; 
$3,000 by Horace B. Silliman, of Cohoes; |4,000 from the Marquand 
estate; $2,000 by Mr. John B. Wells, of Utica; $12,000 by the late 
Miss Laara Carter, of Geneva; $2,000 by Mrs. Dr. Sylvester Willard, 
of Auburn; $2,000 by Mr. Alexander Folsom, of Albany; $1,500 by 
Mr. William Burton, of Waterford; $1,500 by C. C. Sheppard, of 
Penn Yan; $2,000 by the late Marcus Judson, of Watertown; and 
$2,000 by the late Mrs. S. L. Bradley, of Auburn. 

By the gift of $10,000, the late Hon. Elias Warner Leavenworth, 
LL. D , of Syracuse, established a scholarship under particular terms. 

An academic prize scholarship, endowed by the Hon. Ira Daven- 
port, of Bath, yields 1100 a year to a graduate of the Haverling Insti- 
tute of Bath. 

The regular graduating honors, membership in the society of ^ 5 K, 
an entrance prize, and 15 other valuable prizes, 4 prize scholarships, 
and a fellowship, are among the incentives to diligent work. 

LAW SCHOOL OF HAMILTON COLLEGE. 

In 1832 William H. Maynard, a prominent lawyer of Utica, by his last will gave 
$20,000 for the endowment for a professorship of law, and of civil polity and of 
political economy in Hamilton College. The property consisted of unimproved 
real estate which could not be immediately sold, and several years elapsed before 
it became fully productive. The instruction given under it was at first in the 
undergraduate course, and all students graduating from the college had an oppor- 
tunity of instruction in law as a part of the studies of the senior class. 

About 1854 Prof. Theodore W. Dwight, then filling this professorship, secured 
the establishment of a law school in connection with his duties. And on the 12th 
of April, 1855, the legislature provided for the admission of its graduates to the 
3176 16 



242 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW" YORK. 

rights of an attorney, upon examination by persons appointed by the supreme 
court. This act continued until 1877 when it was in part repealed.' 

SUMMARY OF ALUMNI. 
[Based upon the triennial catalogue of 1893.] 

Whole number of alumni (including honorary degree men) 3, 738 

Stelligerent alumni . 903 

Whole number of alumni living 1, 836 

Graduates of the Maynard Law School 839 

Whole number of classical graduates .-. . 3, 116 

Stelligerent classical graduates 694 

Whole number of living classical graduates 1,432 

Lawyers ..- -- ■ - 518 

Clergymen -_. -. — 836 

Clergymen in the Synod of New York 174 

Foreign missionaries _ 38 

Moderators of the Presbyterian General Assembly 5 

Commissioners to the General Assembly of 1894 18 

Members of Congress 39 

State governors 5 

State senators . .. - 26 

Members of State constitutional conventions 20 

Supreme court judges - --- 30 

College presidents 16 

Regents of the University of State of New York. . 8 

Trustees of Hamilton College 41 

Sons of alumni admitted to Hamilton College _ 246 

College professors and tutors - -... 130 

Theological seminary professors 23 

State superintendents of public instruction 6 

Normal school principals and professors 18 

Principals of academies and high schools. . - 130 

Physicians -.- --- -. 110 

Bankers and brokers 55 

Editors 74 

Agriculturists - . 25 

Merchants 51 

Civil engineers and architects - . . . . - . 15 

Manufacturers _ 22 

Enlisted in the war for the Union. __ ..- 183 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
Act for the endowment of Hamilton College, etc.. Laws 1812, chap. 237. 
Narrative of the Embarrassments and Decline of Hamilton College, by Henry 

Davis, D. D. , president. 1833. 
Report of regents to legislature, April 1, 1830. (Assem. Doc. 373. 1830.) 
Memorial of the semi-centennial celebration of the founding of Hamilton College, 

Clinton, N. Y. 1863. Utica. 
Historical sketch of Hamilton College, by the Rev. Charles Elmer Allison, Yonk- 

ers, N. Y. 1889. 
Fisher, S. W. Historical discourse on Hamilton College. 
Hamilton College library. Library Journal, 2, 71. 
Class of 1865. Biographical record. 

1 The above sketch of the law school is taken from Dr. Hough's Historical and 
Ststistical Record, page 195. 



HOBART COLLEGE. 243 

HOBART COLLEGE, 1825. 
[Furnished by President Potter.] 

The movement which led to the establishment of Hobart College 
may be traced to the year 1811, when Trinity Church, New York, 
promised to the academy at Fairfield, N. Y., an annual grant of 1500, 
on condition that the trustees of the academy should give the prin- 
cipal $550 a year and should allow him to instruct four divinity 
scholars free of charges for tuition. This grant was soon increased 
to $750 a year and the number of divinity scholars to eight. The 
principal appointed under this agreement united the duties of rector 
in the Fairfield church, head of the academy, and instructor in the- 
ology to the divinity students, and for six years there seems to have 
been no plan conceived for providing the Episcopal clergy in western 
New York with a more liberal education than they could receive in 
the Fairfield school. In 1817, however, the Rev. Dr. McDonald was 
appointed to the principalship. He brought with him a lively sense 
of the dangers to which a church is exposed by want of learning in 
its ministry and a very strong resolve to do something toward the 
establishment in western New York of a college and theological school 
for the Episcopal Church. 

He and Bishop Hobart were firmly united in this purpose, and soon 
matured a plan for its fulfillment. In 1821 the grant of Trinity 
Church was transferred to the Geneva Academy, Geneva, N. Y., on 
condition that the people of Geneva should erect a suitable building for 
the accommodation of the theological students ; and the subscription 
paper then circulated states that the money from Trinity Church was 
to be given ' ' with the intent to use all practical means to raise the 
academy to the highly useful station of a college." In 1822 the trus- 
tees of the academy thought themselves justified in asking the regents 
of the University of the State of New York for a college charter, to be 
ranted after three years, provided that within that period sufiicient 
permanent funds should be obtained to insure the efficiency of the 
institution. The regents granted the request by conferring, April 10, 
1822, a provisional charter, and on the 8tli of February, 1825, the 
formal charter of Geneva College was issued. 

The institution thus created represented two distinct interests — the 
Episcopal Church and the people of Geneva and its vicinity. The 
church was of course chiefiy desirous that the college should give 
students an adequate preparation for the theological school, which it 
was proposed to connect with the college ; the people of Geneva were 
glad to have among them a place at which a liberal education could 
be conveniently obtained. The good of both parties plainly required 
nothing more than a well ordered curriculum and good teachers, but 
jealousies were aroused by certain points of administration, and the 
conciliation of the divisions thus created was a delicate task. 



244 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

It was clue to Dr. McDonald, who seems to have been a man of great 
skill in managing the details of business, that the college had any 
success at all in its earliest years. He was for a year the acting presi- 
dent, and was professor of Greek and Latin until his death in 1830. 

The purpose of Dr. McDonald and Bishop Hobart was to establish 
a theological seminary in connection with the college, but though 
such a seminary was formally organized in 1821 it was never success- 
ful, and came to an end after a few years. 

In spite of its close connection with the Episcopal Church (over 
two-fifths of its endowments came from funds for the increase and 
education of the ministry of that church) Geneva College was very 
far from being a mere training school for the ministry. Indeed, it 
went further than any college of its day in attempting to provide for 
the needs of young men who did not intend to enter any of the so- 
called learned professions. In a circular published in 1824, the out- 
lines of a proposed "English course" are given — a course, as the 
circular states, " in direct reference to the actual business of life, by 
which the agriculturist, the mechanic, and the merchant may receive 
a practical knowledge of what genius and experience have discovered, 
without passing through a tedious course of classical studies." 

The first president was the Rev. Jasper Adams, D. D., elected in 
1826, who held the position only until April, 1828. 

Dr. McDonald, as has been said, became the first professor of Greek 
and Latin ; and the first professor of mathematics and natural philos- 
ophy was Horace Webster, LL. D., afterwards president of the College 
of the City of New York. Professor Webster held his position for 
twenty-three years, and by his learning, his diligence, and his gener- 
ous devotion he lielped to support the college through the times of its 
greatest weakness. In the first faculty there were also a professor of 
French and a tutor. 

The second president was the Rev. Richard S. Mason, D. D. Dur- 
ing Dr. Mason's presidency (in 1834) a medical school was established 
in connection with the college. This school obtained a high rank in 
its day and had several physicians of note in its faculty, among them 
Dr. C. A. Lee and the elder Dr. Austin Flint. In 1873 the school was 
transferred to Sj^racuse University in order to secure the clinical 
advantages presented in Syracuse. 

In 1836, on the resignation of Dr. Mason, the Rev. Benjamin Hale, 
D. D., was elected to the presidency. It was under Dr. Hale that 
the college was first really assured of permanent existence and effi- 
ciency. When he became president he found the college still weak- 
ened by the suspicion and jealousy between the secular and ecclesi- 
astical elements of its government; the endowment funds, small at 
best, in much confusion, and the work of the college ill directed. 
When he retired, at the end of twenty-three years, he left an endow- 



HOBART COLLEGE. 245 

ment lai-gely increased and well invested, an organized faculty, and 
a strong body of friends and supporters of the college. 

Much of tliis addition to the wealth of the college was due to the 
generosity and self-sacrifice of Dr. Hale himself. Indeed, the history 
of Geneva College is a record of the quiet devotion of a few self- 
denying men, who gave their energies, their abilities, their chances 
of preferment, and the best years of their lives to keep it from extinc- 
tion. 

It was in 1851, during the presidency of Dr. Hale, that Trinity 
Church, influenced chiefly 'by the solicitations of Bishop De Lancey, 
►decided to add a considerable amount to the permanent funds. There 
were several conditions attached to this grant, one of which was that 
the name of the college should be changed to Hobart Free College, in 
commemoration of Bishop Hobart, to whose labors the foundation of 
the college was in great measure due. 

In 1858 the Rev. Abner Jackson, D. D., LL. D., succeeded Dr. Hale. 
During Dr. Jackson's administration (in 1860) the name of the college 
was changed from Hobart Free College to Hobart College. Dr. Jack- 
son resigned in 1867 to become president of Trinity College, Hartford, 
and after a j^ear, during which the senior professor, the Rev. Dr. W. 

D. Wilson acted as president, the Rev. James Kent Stone, D. D., was 
elected. He held the position only one year, and was succeeded by 
the Rev. James Rankine, D. D., whose term lasted from 1869 to 1871. 
The Rev. Maunsell Van Rensselaer, D. D., LL. D., filled the office 
from 1871 to 1876, and was followed by the Rev. W. S. Perry, D. D., 
LL. D., who was president only two months, resigning the position to 
become bishop of Iowa. He was followed b}^ the Rev. Robert Gra- 
ham Hinsdale, D. D. (1876-1883), and after a year, during which the 
senior professor, H. L. Smith, LL. D., was acting president, the Rev. 

E. N. Potter, S. T. D., LL. D., D. C. L., was elected. During Dr. 
Potter's presidency the value of the college real estate was very nearly 
dovibled, chieflj^ by the erection of several new buildings. Among 
these the most im]3ortant is the new library erected in 1885-86. 
There are now 22,000 volumes on the shelves, and the college is 
accordingly provided with a good working library. There are also 
a chemical laboratory sufficient for all the operations in elementarj^ 
qualitative and quantitative analysis, a well-arranged geological 
museum, and a good collection of mathematical and astronomical 
instruments, including an equatorial telescope with a focal length of 
10 feet and an aperture of nearly 9 inches. 

In 1889 the total wealth of the college was $460,612.48 (no debt), its 
revenue from all sources 124,723.28, its expenditures $25,000.48, of 
which 114,602.41 was for salariesand $5,497.59 for prizes, scholarships, 
and beneficiary aid. The number of students was 76, of permanent 
instructors 9, of lecturers 3. 

In 1897 the Rev. R. E. Jones succeeded to the presidency. 



246 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

NOTABLE TEACHERS. 

No account of Hobart College would be complete without some men- 
tion of several of its teachers. Dr. McDonald and Professor Webster 
have already been spoken of. Gen. Joseph Gardner Swift, the noted 
engineer, so Avell known as the first graduate of the United States Mili- 
tary Academy, was professor of political economy and civil engineer- 
ing from 1831 to 1845. For one year only, 1848-49, the college enjoyed 
the services of another able engineer, David Bates Douglass, LL. D., 
at one time the i3resident of Kenj'^on College. The Rev. W. D. Wil- 
son, D. D., LL. D., L. H. D., so long the honored and reverenced 
dean of Cornell University, was x)rofessor of moral and intellectual* 
philosophy from 1850 to 1868, when he became professor of philosophy 
at Cornell. Besides all these there is Prof. Hamilton Lamphere Smith, 
LL. D., who since 1868 has been professor of natural philosophy and 
astronomy, having come to Hobar: from Ken yon College, Ohio. Pro- 
fessor Smith's contributions to the advancement of science, and in 
particular his work on the diatomacege, have a permanent value, while 
his generous enthusiasm and his unselfish kindness make him beloved 
as well as honored. 

THE CLASSICAL COURSE. 

The development of the classical course of study has been much the 
same at Hobart College as at other colleges. of equal age and stand- 
ing. When the college was opened, the age of a student at entrance 
was about 15. He had to pass examination in arithmetic and gram- 
mar, in about as much Latin as is now required, and in simple Greek 
prose, including the four gospels in Greek. Then, in his freshman 
year, he finished his arithmetic and grammar, made his first acquaint- 
ance with Greek poetry, and read Virgil's Georgics, some Livy, and 
Sallust. Afterwards he made his way through the elegant extracts in 
" Grgeca Majora," read three books of Homer's Iliad in his junior year, 
and in his senior year studied Cicero de Oratore, the first volume of 
Stewart's Philosophy, mechanics, hydrostatics, hydrodynamics, mag- 
netism, electricity, optics, astronomy, Kames's Criticism, Butler's Anal- 
ogy, chemistry, mineralogy and geology, Stewart's History of Moral and 
Political Philosophy, political economy, Constitution of the United 
States and Chancellor Kent's Law Lectures, Rutherford's Institutes, 
Juvenal and Persius, and the Greek Testament. Indeed, the studj^ of 
the Testament occupied an hour a week throughout the course, and 
the close connection between the college and the church is shown hy 
the fact that St. Augustine's De Civitate Dei was read during the 
junior year. 

At the present time the age at entrance has increased from 15 to 17 
or 18; the Homer formerly read in the junior year is read in the fit- 
ting school, an acquaintance with a few English classics is required 
for admission, and the algebra, geometry, and geography formerly 



HOBART COLLEGE. 247 

studied in college are now expected at entrance. In the college course 
the Greek Testament and St. Augustine are no longer read. The 
work in Greek and Latin is so arranged that a student has the oppor- 
tunity of becoming acquainted at first hand with nearly all the great 
classical authors. The course in English is so planned that every grad- 
uate will have the power, so far as teaching can give it, of writing cor- 
rect and straightforward English, and will have made a critical study 
of several plays of Shakespeare and a good part of the Canterbury 
Tales, besides gaining from his personal readings a gentleman's knowl- 
edge of English literature. Elementary German and French have been 
added to the required work, and the study of science has been made 
less general and more thorough. Mathematics are carried no further 
than formerlj', but the calculus, which was part of the junior work, 
is now taken \\]} in the soj)homore year. In brief, a large amount of 
work in Greek, English, French, and German has been added to the 
old course, while in other departments the character of the teaching 
has become, so to speak, less scholastic and more academic than it 
was fiftj^ j^ears ago. 

THE ENGLISH OR SCIENTIFIC COURSE. 

Mention has been made of an English course which was devised at 
the opening of the college. The circular in which the plan of this 
course is set forth is so interesting that it has been thought well to print 
it in part : 

That the blessings of civil liberty — real blessings only when shared among all 
ranks of people — may be extended as far as possible and continued as long as pos- 
sible, a general diffusion of useful knowledge seems indispensably necessary. 
******* 

There is another light in which the diffusion of knowledge may be received as 
of the highest importance to the community at large. It is where practical infor- 
mation is communicated to citizens in all stations of life, enabling them to add 
pleasure to business and extend their exertions for the means of domestic comfort 
into fields of research hitherto confined to the philosopher. 

For these reasons it is proposed, should the plan receive the approbation of the 
honorable the regents of the university , to institute in the Geneva College, besides 
the regular course of study pursued in similar institutions, a totally distinct 
course, in direct reference to the practical business of life, by which the agricul- 
turist, the merchant, and the mechanic may receive a practical knowledge of what 
genius aijd experience have discovered, without passing through a tedious course 
of classical studies. 

Students of certain qualifications and age shall be admitted members of the 
college, with all the privileges of it, to pursue a full course of the following studies 
under the appointed instructors: 

1. Under the English professor they shall study the philosophy of English gram- 
mar, geography, rhetoric, history, etc. 

2. Under the professor of mathematics they shall study geometry, trigonom- 
etry, land surveying, theoretical and practical; mensuration, generally, etc. 

3. Under the professor of chemistry shall be studied chemistry, the principles 
of dyeing, bleaching, etc. 



248 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

4. This course of study shall consume at least two years, and the students shall 
be classed by years, as in the classical departments of the college. 

5. Students pursuing this course shall be subject to the same number of public 
examinations in every year as are the classical students, and shall equally conform 
to all the by-laws of the college. 

6. Upon the expiration of the prescribed term of study such students in this 
minor course as shall appear, upon public examination, to merit it, shall receive 
from the president on commencement day, if the president be so authorized by 
the honorable the regents of the university, an English diploma. 

This ijaper, whicli is probabty tlie work of Dr. McDonald, is remark- 
able for two things: First, for its real breadth of view in perceiving 
that technical training need not be illiberal, and secondly, for its mis- 
conception of the resources needed in the successful institution of 
what would have been practically a school of technology. 

Technical education costs more for apparatus and teachers than 
any other kind of instruction, and the original purposes of the Eng- 
lish course could not have been reached without a great deal of 
money. As the money was not obtained, the English course included 
from the first hardly anything more than what was left of the classical 
course after omitting the Greek and Latin. .In the beginning it re- 
quired three years for completion, and added a little work in French. 
From 1854 to 1875 it was offered as a two years' course, but demanded 
so much more than formerly for admission that it was practically un- 
changed in character. Since 1875 the course has taken three years. 
Up to 1886 it was known sometimes as the English course, more often 
as the scientific course, not a misleading name so long as the subsidiary 
portions of the classical course were in the main scientific, however 
elementary. As the character of the classical course has been changed, 
the character and the name of the English course have been corres- 
pondingly modified. At present the course is called the literary course, 
and the diploma carries the degree of bachelor of letters. The require- 
ments for entrance include an elementary knowledge of French and 
German. 

STATISTICS OF ALUMNI. 

In 1 889 there had been 624 iDcrsons graduated from the college. They 
may be classified by professions as follows : 

Clergymen 164 

Lawyers 180 

Physicians 68 

Teachers _. 60 

Civil engineers 14 

In other employments 138 

Nearly all of the graduates have attained positions of respectability, 
and not a few have become eminent in their different callings. 

Six of the clerical graduates have been consecrated as bishoj)s in 



HOBAKT COLLEGE. 249 

the Protestant Episcopal Cliurcli. They are the Rt. Rev. Henry 
Adams Neely, D. D., bishop of Maine (class of 1849); Rt. Rev. Wil- 
liam Paret, D. D., LL. D., bishop of Maryland (1849); Rt. Rev. Ed- 
ward Randolph Welles, D. D., of Wisconsin (1850); Rt. Rev. George 
Worthington, S. T. D., LL. D., of Nebraska (I860); Rt. Rev. Leigh 
Richmond Brewer, S. T. D., of Montana (1863), and the Rt. Rev. 
Anson Rogers Graves, bishop of the Missionary District of the Platte 
(1866). The Rt. Rev. Mahlon N. Gilbert, D. D., assistant bishop of 
Minnesota, though not a graduate, was for some years a student at 
Hobart College. 

The Rt. Rev. Charles Edward Cheney, bishop in the Reformed 
Episcopal Church, was graduated in 1857. 

Among the lawyers graduated at the college, the first place may 
rightly be given to Charles James Folger, of the class of 1836. He 
studied law in Canandaigua, N. Y., was admitted to the bar in 1839, 
and soon acquired a good practice in Geneva. He was made chief 
judge of the court of appeals by appointment and afterwards by elec- 
tion, 1880-1881; then Secretary of the Treasury of the United States 
from October 27, 1881, to September 4, 1884, the day of his death. 
In 1882 he was nominated by the New York State Republican con- 
vention for governor, but was defeated by Grover Cleveland by a 
majority of nearly 200,000. The stir of politics, the control of great 
interests, the exhilaration of opposition made public life interesting to 
Secretary Folger. To all the positions he filled, whether administrative 
or judicial, he brought a conservative judgment, a widely informed 
mind, and a devotion to duty which amounted to enthusiasm. No 
stain ever rested upon his honor and no meanness was ever laid to 
his charge, and when he died men of all stations and every occupa- 
tion came to do honor to the memory of one who was the friend of all. 

Gen. Albert James Myer, of the class of 1847, became well known as 
the Chief Signal Officer of the United States Army. While on duty in 
Texas, in the United States Army, he devised a system of signaling, 
with flags and torches, by which messages could be sent as accurately 
and fully, though not so rapidly, as by the electric telegraph. In 
1860 he was commissioned major and made Chief Signal Officer of the 
Army. His appointment as Chief Signal Officer was revoked July 21, 
1864, but he was brevetted brigadier-general March 13, 1865. He 
was reappointed colonel and Chief Signal Officer in 1866. By an act 
of Congress approved February 9, 1870, provision was made for tak- 
ing meteorological observations at certain military stations, and for 
giving notice on the Northern Lakes and seaboard of the approach and 
force of storms. To the superintendence of this work General Myer 
was appointed, and at 7.35 a. m. November 1, 1870, "the first sys- 
tematized simultaneous meterological observations taken in the 
United States were read from the instrument at twenty-four stations 



250 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

and placed on the telegraphic wires for transmission." The develop- 
ment of the Weather Bureau under General Myer is too well known 
to need recounting. He was commissioned brigadier-general in June, 
1880, and died on the 24th of August in the same year. 

Other distinguished graduates are: William Watts Folwell, LL. D., 
of the class of 1857, afterwards president of the University of Minne- 
sota; the Rev. George Williamson Smith, D. D., LL. D., also class of 
1857, president of Trinity College, Hartford; Henry Hobart Bates, 
examiner in chief of the board of appeals in the Patent Oifice, and 
Clarence Armstrong Seward, class of 1848, for more than twenty-five 
years a member of one of the largest and most prominent law firms 
of New York City. 

The best general account of the history of the college down to 1876 
is contained in the history of Ontario County, N. Y., published by 
Everts, Ensign & Everts, Philadelphia. A memoir of President Hale, 
by the Rev. Malcolm Douglass, was published in Claremont, N. H., 
by the Claremont Manufacturing Company. The numbers of the 
Hobart Herald (the local college paper) for October 26, November 18, 
and December 19, 1885, for October, 1886, and for November, 1887, 
contain details of interest and importance. 

All these books and pamphlets are in the college library. A com- 
plete set of the prospectuses published by the college and of the cata- 
logues (the first catalogue was published in 1837) is also in the library. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF HOBART COLLEGE. 

[Prepared in 1891 by Philip N. Nicholas, Secretary of Board of Triistees.] 

I. 

Conditional charter granted by regents of the University of the State of New York 
April 10, 1822. Charter granted by regents of the University of the State of 
New York February 8, 1825. Recorded in Book of Deeds No. 41, page 357, 
etc., April 14, 1825. 

Charter amended April 10, 1855. 

Charter amended February 5, 1863. 

Charter amended June 13, 1890. 

Name changed by regents to Hobart College March 27, 1860. 

STATUTES RELATING TO HOBART COLLEGE. 

Chapter 309, Laws 1831, authorizes college to employ part of its funds in purchase 
of lot and buildings. Chapter 237, Laws 1838. relating to United States deposit 
fund. Chapter 211, Laws 1852, name changed to Hobart Free College. Chap- 
ter 247, Laws 1855, relating to quorum of board. Chapter 542, Laws 1857, 
relating to appropriation ($3,000). Chapter 52, Laws 1861, change of name by 
regents ratified and acts of regents confirmed. Chapter 21, Laws 1874, rela- 
ting to constitution and election of the board of trustees. 

II. 

The regents' reports contain the annual statements made by the college. 



HOBART COLLEGE. 251 

III. 

1. History of Hobart College to 1876, prepared by the Right Rev. W. S. Perry, 

D. D., etc., bishop of Iowa, the president of the college, for the History of 
Ontario County, New York, published by Everts, Ensign & Everts, of Phila- 
delphia, Pa. 

An elaborate sketch, and in the main satisfactory. It is especially valuable for its cita- 
tions of original documents in the possession of the college in manuscript. 

2. Brigham's Geneva, Seneca Falls, and Waterloo Directory for 1863. Contains a 

shoi-t history of the college, prepared bj^ the Rev. Abner Jackson, D. D., etc., 
then president of the college. It is part of Mrs. S. H. Bradford's History of 
Geneva. 

3. A brief history of the college, sent to the Johns Hopkins University during the 

academic year 1889-90. 

This sketch is not as full as the Perry history (No. 1), but emphasizes certain points 
which that history passed over lightly. It was prepared under the direction of the faculty. 

4. The general statement which introduces the annual catalogue of the college for 

1890-91 is a very satisfactory sketch, presenting clearly and briefly the leading 
facts in the history of the college. 

5. Sundry pamphlets. One of the most valuable is entitled College Memoranda, 

1868, and was prepared by the late Thomas D. Burrall, of Geneva. 

IV. 

1. A memoir of President Hale, prepared by the Rev. Malcolm Douglass, published 

in Claremont, N. H., covers particularly 1836 to 1858. 

2. An interesting and valuable memoir of the Rev. Daniel McDonald, D. D., first 

acting president of the college, will be found in Sprague's Annals of the Ameri- 
can Pulpit, Vol. V. 

3. A very brief sketch of President Hale is contained in Appleton's Encyclopedia 

of Biography. 

4. The Rev. Abner Jackson, D. D. , etc. , once president. A memorial address by the 

Rev. William Payne, D. D., Hartford, 1874. 

5. David Bates Douglass. LL. D., professor of mathematics, Geneva College. A 

memorial address by the Rev. Benjamin Hale, D. D., Geneva, 1850. 

6. The Rev. Kendrick Metcalf , D. D., late professor and librarian in Hobart College. 

A memorial sermon by the Rev. James A. Bolles, D. D., Geneva, 1873. 

7. A memorial of Louis Sanford Schuyler, priest. 12°. New York, 1879. 

8. The Hon. Charles James Folger, LL. D. A memorial address by the Hon. 

Charles Andrews. Geneva, 1885. 

9. The Hon. Horatio Seymour, LL. D. A memorial address by the Hon. Delans 

C. Calvin, LL. D. Geneva, 1886. 

Of the above memorials Nos. 1, 3, and 3 are specially valuable. 

V. 

1. The annual catalogues published by the college (date of first, 1837) contain 

much historical matter. 

The one for 1890-91 is particularly valuable. 

2. The Hobart Herald, college monthly, has details of more or less interest in all 

its numbers; volumes VII and VIII in particular, under the caption "College 
Memoranda," contain matter of interest and importance. 

3. The Sentinel, 1872-73, the college monthly which preceded the Hobart Herald, 

contains feome historical material. 

4. The Echo of the Seneca, college annual, which began in 1857, is devoted spe- 

cially to student life, organizations, classes, societies, etc. 
All works named above are in the Hobart College library. 



252 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

VI. 



BIOGRAPHICAL, MEMORANDA. 



Appleton's American Biography contains sketches of the following Hobart 
College alumni : 



Name. 



Class. 



Right Rev. Henry Adams Seely, D. D., Maine .._. 

Right Rev. William Paret, D. D., LL.D., Maryland _. 

Right Rev. Edward Randolph Welles, D. D. , Wisconsin - 

Right Rev. George Worthington, 8. T. D., LL. D., Nebraska. 

Right Rev. Leigh Richmond Brewer, S. T. D., Montana 

Right Rev. MahlonN. Gilbert, D. D., assistant, Minnesota 

Right Rev. Charles Edward Cheney, D. D. (Reformed Episcopal Church) 

Hon. George Woodruff _ 

Rev. Philemon Halsted Fowler, D.D 

Hon. Peter Wyndot Dox- - _ 

Hon. James Rood Doolittle __. 

Hon. Fredric Solon Lowell _ _- _._ 

Hon. Charles James Folger , _ __ 

Rev. John Nicholas Norton, D. D. _ 

Edward Floyd De Lancy, Esq 

Prof. Thomas Fortescue Rochester, M. D., LL. D 

Gen. Albert James Myer, M. D.,LL. D 

Charles Nathaniel Hewitt, M. D 

Prof . William Watts Folwell, LL.D 

Rev. George Williamson Smith, D. D., LL. D., President Trinity College . 



1849 
1849 
1850 
1860 
1863 



1857 
1839 
1833 
1833 
1834 
18a5 
1836 
1843 
1843 
1845 
1847 
1856 
1857 
1857 



Sketch in the University Magazine, May, 1890, of the Hon. Clarence Armstrong 

Seward, LL. D., New York, class of 1848. 
A brief biography of the Rev. Eliphalet Nott Potter, D. D., etc., president of the 

college, appeared in the University Magazine, March, 1890. 
Other prominent alumni of Hobart College, academic department: 



Name. 



Class. 



Rev. William Thomas Gibson, D. D., editor Church Eclectic . 

Charles Cameron Clarke, Briar Clifif, N. Y. ___ 

Rev. Prof. Joseph Morison Clarke, D. D -. 

Rev. William Azur Matson, D. D 

Abel Seymour Baldwin, M.D. _ _ 

Prof. Theodore Sterling _ __. 

Mortimer William Belshaw 

Prof. Albert Sproul Wheeler, New Haven 

Henry Hobart Bates, Ph. D., Patent Office .- _. 

Rev. Prof. Edward Hart Jewitt, D. D., M. D., New York 

Hon. Charles Edward Parker, .judge 

Heury Ebenezer Henderson, M. D 

Prof. Charles Delamater Vail, Hobart College Librarian 

CoL Charles Jefferson Wright 

Hon. Henry Richard Watson 

Prof. Charles Jacobus ___ . 

Rev. Henry Roswell Lockwood, D. D_- -__ . 

Beverly Chew, New York 

Rev. Cameron Mann. D.D .- 

Rev. Wm. Mortimer Hughes, D. D 

Prof. Herbert Morison Clarke.. 

Prof. Charles John Rose 

James Milnor Coit, Ph. D 



1843 
1844 
1847 
1843 
1834 
1848 
1850 
1851 
1854 
1855 
1857 
1858 
1858 
1861 
1863 
1864 
1864 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1876 
1876 
1865 



VIT. 

A complete collection of books and pamphlets illustrating the history of the college 

is preparing for the library of the University of the State of New York. (New 

York State Library. ) 
Complete sets of the annual catalogues will be found also in the Astor Library, the 

Boston Public Library, and the Yale University library. 
A file of the Hobart Herald will be found in the Yale University library, also a 

copy of the Perry History of Hobart College. 



NEW YOEK UNIVERSITY. 253 

HISTORY OF NEW YORK UNIVERSITY. 

[Furnished by Chancellor MacCracken.] 

New York University, Henry M. MacCracken, D. D., LL. D., Chancellor — University College- 
University Law School— University Medical College— School of Pedagogy. 

The concept of Kew York University first took written shape in the 
minutes of a meeting of nine gentlemen on the 16th clay of December, 
1820. Fortunately, the record of this meeting, in the handwriting of 
John Delafield, who was one of the nine, and who became the first 
secretary' of the university, is preserved; also the minutes of later 
meetings of these same gentlemen in the same month. 

These minutes are as follows (the streets and numbers are retained 
as showing where leading citizens lived seventy years ago) : 

A meeting was convened on the 16th Dec, 1829, at which the following gen- 
tlemen were present: Rev. J. M. Mathews, 93 Liberty; Rev. J. M. Wainwright, 
1 Rector; Dr. Jno. Aug. Smith, 8 Park place; Dr. Valentine Mott, 75 Park place; 
John Delafield, 30 Varick; Joseph Delafield, 16 Park place; Hugh Maxwell, 94 
Houston; I. S. Hone, 66 Greenwich; M. Van Schaick, 335 Broadway. 

The establishment of a university in the city of New York on a liberal and 
xtensive scale was discussed, and various views taken as to the want of such an 
establishment and the probable feeling of the public in relation thereto. It seemed 
to be unanimously conceded that such means of education as a liberal and exten- 
sive university might offer were greatly wanted and desired, and it was believed 
that public sentiment and patronage would aid in building up so great an object. 
It was then proposed that the literary and scientific institutions of our city should 
be invited to send delegates to a meeting hereafter to be convened to take into 
farther consideration the desirableness of such an institution as that contemplated. 
The proposition having been adopted by the meeting, it was adjourned till Wednes- 
day, the 23rd Dec. 

Wednesday, Dec. SSrd, 1839. — At a meeting convened this day, by adjournment 
on Wednesday last, present: Rev. Dr. Mathews, Rev. Dr. Wainwright, Dr. J. A. 
Smith, H. Maxwell, John Delafield, Joseph Delafield, I. S. Hone. John Delafield 
reported that the N. Y. Athenseum had appointed a committee of conference con- 
sisting of Professor Renwich, Columbia College; John Delafield, Francis Olmsted, 
6 Broadway. 

Mr. Delafield further reported the N. Y. Historical Society had appointed a 
committee of conference, viz. Dr. Wainwright, W. Beach Lawrence, John Dela- 
field. 

Mr. Joseph Delafield reported that the N. Y. Lyceum had appointed a commit- 
tee of conference, viz, Joseph Delafield, Dr. Jno. Aug. Smith, and O. M. Lownds. 

The high schools, public schools, and Mechanics' Institute were not yet heard 
from. After much discussion and interchange of opinion, it was agreed to nomi- 
nate and invite a number of citizens to meet the delegates from the several 
societies at a meeting to be hereafter convened. The following gentlemen were 
nominated and agreed on for invitation. [Here followed thirty-eight names.] 
The meeting then adjourned to meet on Wednesday, the 30th inst. 

Wednesday, 30 Dec., 1S29. — Pursuant to adjournment, a meeting was held this 
day; present, Rev, Dr. Mathews, Rev. Dr. Wainwright, M. Van Schaick, H. Max- 
well, Dr. J. A. Smith, and J. Delafield. 

Dr. Broadhead and Mr. W. B. Lawrence, from the high school, attended this 
meeting. Dr. Broadhead reported that the high school had appointed a commit- 
tee of conference, viz, Dr. Broadhead, D. Th. Cook, Wm. Beach Lawrence. 

A further discussion of the project was had, and exchange of opinions, It was 



254 HISTOEY OF HICIHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

then agreed to organize this meeting by the appointment of a chairman and sec- 
retary, when Dr. Mathews was appointed chairman, and John Delafield secretary. 
It was then 

Resolved, That a meeting of the citizens and delegates be convened on Wednes- 
day, the 6 day of January next, at 7 o'clock in the evening. 

The names of the several delegates and of the gentlemen nominated at the last 
meeting to be invited were then called over and confirmed. 

The chairman and secretary were instructed to give the necessary invitation to 
the parties named to meet at the Historical Society rooms (the society having 
offered their rooms for the purpose) . 

The chairman and secretary were instructed and authorized to do all that might 
be deemed requisite by them in relation to the meeting on Wednesday, the 6th 
instant. Adjourned. 

The trustees of the public schools having appointed the following 
gentlemen as delegates, they were severally invited to attend the 
meeting, viz, Robert Sedgwick, 78 Warren; Benjamin Clark, 330 
Pearl; B. L. Swan, Broadway; Samuel Demilt, 239 Pearl; Robert C. 
Cornell, 119 Hudson; Samuel F. Mott, 50 Beekman. 

The Mechanics' Institute appointed the following delegates, who 
were also invited: Thomas R. Mercein, 5 Laight, and Martin E. 
Thompson, White street. 

The following invitation was addressed to each of the aforenamed 
gentlemen : 

Sir: The establishment of a university in this city on a liberal and extensive 
foundation has for some time past occupied the attention of many of our respect- 
able citizens. At a meeting held for considering the subject it was determined to 
invite your attendance on Wednesday next at 7 o'clock p. m., at the rooms of the 
Historical Society, to take into further consideration the desirableness of such an 
institution as that contemplated, and to adopt such measures in relation to it as 
may be deemed most expedient. It is earnestly hoped that you may be able to 
attend. 

J. M. Mathews. 

J. M. Wainwright. 

J. Augustine Smith. 

Valentine Mott. 

Joseph Delafield. 

Myndert Van Schaick. 

Hugh Maxwell. 

Isaac S. Hone. 

John Delafield. 
New York, January 4, 1830. 

The minutes of this invited meeting are preserved, and are as 

follows : 

At a meeting of a number of citizens on the evening of the 6th January, 1830, 
at the rooms of the Historical Society, convened for the purpose of considering 
the expediency of establishing an university in the city of New York, General 
Morgan Lewis was appointed chairman, and Hugh Maxwell was appointed 
secretary. 

A communication on the subject was read by Rev. Dr. Wainwright, and several 
gentlemen stated their views in relation to the proposed plan. 

On motion of Rev. Dr. Mathews, it was resolved that it is highly desirable and 



NEW YOEK UNIVEESITY. 255 

expedient to establish in the city of New York a university on a liberal foundation, 
which shall correspond with the spirit and wants of our age and country, which 
shall be commensurate with our great and growing population, and which shall 
enlarge the opportunities of education for such of our youth as shall be found 
qualified and inclined to improve them. 

On motion of Rev. Dr. Cox, it was resolved that a committee of three be 
appointed to publish the communication which had been submitted to the meet- 
ing, whereupon Rev. Dr. Mathews, Rev. Dr. Wainwright, Mr. John Delafield, 
were appointed by the chairman. 

On motion of Mr. Thos. R. Mercein, it was resolved that a committee be 
appointed, with power to add to their number, to make proper application to the 
legislature for a charter, and to apply to the corporation of the city of New York 
for the privilege of occupying the building in the rear of the City Hall. . . . 

On motion, 

Resolved, That a standing committee be appointed, with power to add to their 
number, to take measures in relation to the establishment of the proposed univer- 
sity, and at their discretion to call meetings of the citizens present, and of others, 
in reference to the main object; whereupon the chairman, Genl. Lewis, was 
appointed chairman of the committee, and the following gentlemen were named: 
N. Dean, M. Van Schaick, O. M. Lownds, John Delafield, James Lennox, Gr. P. 
Disosway, Dr. Broadhead, Dr. Mathews, Dr. Wainwright. 

On motion. 

Resolved, That a committee be appointed to confer with the trustees of Colum- 
bia College in relation to the proposed university. 

This standing committee accepted its appointment and began to 
meet the 8th of January, with Hon. Morgan Lewis as chairman, John 
Delafield as secretary-, and Myndert Van Schaick as treasurer. They 
added to their numbers from time to time, and finallj^ came to include 
a majority of the thirty-two gentlemen who constituted the first cor- 
poration of the university more than a year afterwards. On the 14th 
of January they issued a public address to citizens, over the name of 
their chairman, Morgan Lewis. This address unfolded their plan, the 
more important features of which are stated in the first three para- 
graphs of this printed paper, as follows : 

The great object of the university shall be to extend the benefits of education 
in greater abundance and variety and at a cheaper rate than at present they are 
enjoyed, for which purpose such colleges and professorships shall be established 
in the university as shall hereafter be found practicable and expedient. 

It shall be a fundamental principle that persons of every religious denomination 
shall be eligible to all offices and appointments, to the intent that the university 
shall not at any time be under the control or influence of any particular sect. 

Every person attending the university shall be at liberty to pursue the acquisi- 
tion of knowledge in the various departments of literature and science according 
to his own preference or that of his parent or guardian, having an unlimited 
choice of the branches taught in the institution. 

A fortnight later an exj)anded statement was published, which said 
of the university : 

It is to be a seminary of learning, concentrating within itself means of instruc- 
tion, ample and well arranged, in every department of human knowledge. In 
process of time, and progressively, as subscriptions and donations^ public and 
private, shall be obtained, it must have libraries Qf useful booka for studly and for 



256 HISTORY OB^ HIGHEH EDUCATION IN" NEW YORK. 

reference; apparatus for illustrating natural and experimental philosophy, includ- 
ing chemistry, astronomy, and the mechanical arts; cabinets for natural history; 
a garden for botany and experiments in horticulture and agriculture; and in the 
department of fine arts books, models, casts for drawing in architecture, engi. 
neering, surveying, machinery, and natural history. Able professors and teach- 
ers will also be required in languages, ancient and modern; mathematics, pure 
and applied; philosophy, natural, intellectual, and moral; history and geography, 
ancient and modern; political economy; politics; commerce; the law of nations 
and constitutional law; geology and mineralogy; botany and zoology; physiology 
and comparative anatomy; civil engineering and architecture; agricultural chem- 
istry and chemistry applied to the arts; the laws of perspective and the principles 
of drawing and designing. 

******* 
We do not anticipate the possibility of carrying out into detailed operation the 
whole of the above suggestions in a year, and perhaps not in a generation, but we 
do look forward vpith sanguine expectation to a successful beginning. 

The committee on conference with the city government applied at 
once for the use of the building in the rear of the city hall which was 
known as the almshouse. Thej^ found, however, within thirty days, 
February 1, 1830, a competitor for the use of this building in Colum- 
bia College. The latter submitted a paper to the mayor which is of 
interest as showing the value at that time of the property held for col- 
lege work in New York City: 

Propositions to the corporation of the city of New York which have received 
the approbation of all the trustees of Columbia College: That if the corporation 
of the city should patronage Columbia College as the city college, the trustees 
pledge themselves to ordain that the mayor and recorder shall be ex officio mem- 
bers of the board of trustees of the college, and that for every §20,000 in money or 
in real estate granted or conveyed to the said trustees for the use of the college by 
any individuals or any society or body corporate in the said city the corporation 
shall have the right to appoint one trustee of the said college until the number 
of trustees so appointed shall equal, with the mayor and recorder, the present 
number of the trustees. 

The present number of trustees, agreeably to the charter, is 24 

Value of the property of the college obtained from Trinity Church, at 

least $400,000 

Value of a trusteeship (400,000 divided by 24), say 20,000 

Value of the almshouse and the ground on which it stands 200, 000 

Number of trustees to which the corporation of the city will be entitled 
in case of the grant of the almshouse or an equivalent thereto ($200,000 
divided by 20,000), say 10 

Add mayor and recorder 3 

Total trustees under the above arrangement 12 

If other funds be contributed by the corporation or the citizens, the number of 
trustees so appointed by the corporation will be increased. 

The university, failing to obtain the temporary use of the city's 
building, took up its first abode in its " own hired house." This was 
"Clinton Hall," situated in Bleecker street, not far from Broadway. 
This independence of the city government which the university was 



NEW YOEK UiaVERSITY. 257 

obliged to assume against its own preference is now seen to have 
been a blessing in disguise. 

The committee on conference with Columbia College appointed by 
the invited meeting accepted their office. They reported the 5th of 
February to the standing committee that — 

They have held a meeting with a committee from the college, and that after an 
interchange of views in reference to some distinguishing features of the two insti- 
tutions nothing transpired which in the opinion of the undersigned can lead to a 
belief that under present circumstances there is any prospect of bringing the 
university and the college into such an immediate union with each other as would 
form them into one institution, under a common head and government; although 
it is hoped they may both proceed with mutual good will and honorable emula- 
tion in promoting the common cause of education and literature. ' 

^ The writer [Chancellor MacCracken] , in a speech before the Nineteenth Cen- 
tury Club, of New York City, Monday, April 12, 1893, discussed by special invi- 
tation the subject of ''A Metropolitan University," and in the introduction spoke 
of the genesis of the two universities in the one city. He said: 

"I have suggested that the explanation of the two foundations is found in two 
diverging tendencies of thought. I shall prove this from a very brief glance at 
the genesis of the two corporations. 

" The first allusion in standard history to the university movement in New York 
City is in the fourth volume of Bancroft's United States. He says of New York 
province that although it was settled chiefly by Calvinists yet the English Church 
was favored by law, though not established. Then he adds, under the date 1754, 
the following: 'An act of the prerogative which limited the selection of the pres- 
ident of the provincial college to those in communion with the Church of Eng- 
land agitated the public mind and united the Presbyterians in distrust of the 
royal authority.' Come down exactly one hundred years to the year 1854, and 
the following view of the transaction of 1754 is from the pen of a prominent trus- 
tee of Columbia College, Mr. S. B. Ruggles, published in a pamphlet entitled 
The Duty of Columbia College to the Community. He is arguing for a larger 
liberality, especially in the admission of a certain candidate to a professorship in 
spite of his Unitarianism. He states the case as to the denominational restric- 
tions placed upon Columbia College by her charter, which restrictions were 
removed as far as possible by the amended charter of 1787, but which nevertheless 
he regarded as perpetual by reason of the conditions in the deed of lands from the 
Trinity corporation. He says: 'The Episcopalianism of the president and the 
form of prayer in the college had, however, been secured not only by the charter, 
but by express conditions contained in the conveyance by Trinity Church of the 
college site. The State had, therefore, (that is, in making the new charter of 1787) 
neither legal right nor constitutional authority to dispense with these conditions; 
and for one I trust that the college will always respect, not only their legal, but 
their fair moral obligation, and will honestly perform them in their true intent 
and purpose without diminution or evasion. I hope that the president will 
always be an Episcopalian, and that the prescribed form of prayer may always 
be retained. But beyond that I contend that neither the legal nor the moral rights 
of Trinity Church, nor any other church, extend an inch.' 

" I name, therefore, as indicating the historic position and tendency of Columbia, 
the charter of 1754, Bancroft's History, the deed of gift from Trinity Church, and 
the statement of Mr. Ruggles in 1854. 

' ' I turn now to the genesis of the New York University. After the Revolution 
some effort was made at a modification of the government of Columbia, as appears 
from the following statement of a trustee of Columbia College published in 1830. 
3176 17 



258 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

The year 1830 was devoted by the friends of the university to the 
securing of $100,000 of subscriptions and to the further development 
of the programme of the university. On the 29tli of July, 1830, a 
meeting of the standing committee was convened, to which Mr. Dela- 
field, the secretary, presented the following report: 

It is with pleasure the executive committee now reports the successful issue of 
their labors. More than $100,000 have been subscribed or secured to the object of 
the institution. 

The record of subscriptions indicates that the largest part of the 
1100,000 was obtained in subscriptions of 11,500 each, of which there 
were 42 in all. There were only 4 subscriptions of larger sums, which 
brought on an average about $3,000 each. There were a score or two 
of subscribers of sums less than $100, showing the popular character 
of the effort. 

On the 31st of July the subscribers met and appointed a committee 
of 11 members to nominate candidates for the council or board of 
direction. Over 60 names were proposed to this committee, from 
whom were selected 32. Inasmuch as the scheme of the university 
forbade any religious denomination to have a majority, the church 
affiliations of the candidates were carefully ascertained and recorded. 
The following subscribers were duly chosen as incorporators on the 
16th day of October, 1830: 

Episcopalians 11, as follows: Jonathan M. Wainwright, James 
Milnor, Morgan Lewis, Albert Gallatin, John Haggerty, Samuel 

He says: ' It was in contemplation to apply to Trinity Church to release this con- 
dition (that is, the denominational condition inserted in the deed of the lands) in 
order to the introduction into the presidency of that eminent scholar and Presby- 
terian divine Dr. Mason; ' but he goes on to say that the trustees decided instead 
of this to make John Mitchell Mason their provost (1811-1815). This proved but 
a temporary expedient. 

"When the Revolution and the war of 1812 were past, and the completion of the 
canal system brought to New York new prosperity, then the movement on behalf 
of those not satisfied with Columbia as their educational representative took new 
growth, and tliat from so many quarters that no one can name its exact author, 
Nine gentlemen in 1829 called a public meeting, and this meeting, in January, 
1830, issued a formal invitation to the community to unite in the founding of a 
new university. To compare small things with great, I would say of that date in 
higher education in New York what Macaulay says of the time when the Long 
Parliament met in 1641: 'From that day dates the corporate existence of two 
great parties. The distinction that was then made obvious had always existed 
and always must exist, for it has its origin in diversities of temper, of understand- 
ing, and of interest which are found in all societies, and which will be found till 
the human mind ceases to be drawn in opposite directions by the charm of habit 
and by the charm of novelty. ' The first plank of the new university platform was 
that ' persons of every religious denomination shall be equally eligible to all offices 
and appointments in the new foundation. ' This was inserted in the charter, where 
it still remains. The incorporators were to be elected by the subscribers of the 
endowment. These two planks of their platform illustrated the popular spirit and 
.tendency of the movement. Certain consequences speedily followed. They satis- 
fied nobody entirely. They were accused of being irreligious, because they mad© 



1 



NEW yOEK UNIVERSITY. 259 

Ward, jr., FanniBg C. Tucker, Oliver M. Lownds, Edward Delafield, 
Charles G. Troup, and John Delafield; Presbyterians 9, as follows: 
Samuel H. Cox, Cyrus Mason, Samuel R. Betts, James Tallmadge, 
George Griswold, Stephen Whitney, James Lenox, John S. Crary, 
and Charles Starr; Reformed 7, as follows: James M. Mathews, 
Jacob Brodhead, Henry 1. Wj^ckoff, Myndert Van Schaick, Martin 
E. Thompson, Benjamin L. Swan, and William W. Woolsey ; Method- 
ist 1, as follows: Gabriel P. Dissosway; Friend 1, as follows: Valen- 
tine Mott; Baptists 2, as follows: Spencer H. Cone and Archibald 
Maclay; one not specified. 

Associated with, them were the mayor of the city and 4 members of 
the common council, these 4 being elected by the subscribers in the 
same way with the other 32 members. 

One hundred and sixty- nine subscribers were qualified to cast votes, 
each vote representing $100. Altogether 543 votes were cast. Not 
less than 500 of these were given each of above-named members, so 
that the choice was almost unanimous. 

The council thus chosen held its first meeting October 18, 1830, and 
elected Mr. Albert Gallatin president and Mr. John Delafield secre- 
tary. Mr. Gallatin's name does not api^ear in connection with the 
university until this date. He resigned, after a year's service, on the 
22d of October, 1831, giving the state of his health as the cause of 
the resignation. This was one year before the doors of the university 

no provision in the charter for religious teaching. One writer of 1830 says: ' For all 
that I can see, an infidel or an atheist may have access to every professorship in the 
institution. ' But as soon as the subscribers had elected thirty-two incorporators, it 
was found that eight of them were parsons, namely, two Baptists, two Dutch, two 
Episcopalians, and two Presbyterians. Immediately the university was declared to 
be foo religious. In the Evening Post of 1830 a writer exclaims: 'It was solely 
because Columbia was supposed to be subservient to a particular church that it was 
not supposed capable of satisfying the community. The new university has chosen 
its counsel — eight names with the prefix of reverend. I regret it as a most inaus- 
picious circumstance. It is no answer to say that these gentlemen are of different 
persuasions. It is quite enough that these men are united together by the bond of 
particular religious sympathies.' Far removed as we are from these conflicts, we 
can plainly see that the spirit of the university movement was decidedly ijuritan, 
though not in any narrow sense denominational. It stood, as Columbia manfully 
and conscientiously stood, for a system of thought in regard to church and state 
and education. Each side held its view firmly and felt bound to advance it by every 
lawful means. The new movement was also on the side of innovation against con- 
servatism. The first progranime of the university announced elective courses open 
to those who did not care for classical training; also, popular instruction for non- 
matriculants and graduate courses for men who had gone through college. Had 
the founders not suffered in the financial disaster of that decade, but obtained the 
endowment of half a million dollars which they asked for, no doubt they would 
have developed these popular lines of study. They sincerely attempted them, but 
with only the fee of each student as compensation for the instruction, the outcome 
was very feeble. 

"But why could not the two elements of the community have joined in 1830 in a 



260 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATIOlSr IN NEW YORK. 

were open for instruction. Mr. Gallatin liardlj'^ deserves the credit 
for early or active service in the cause of the university given him by 
his biographer in the series of American Statesmen, which makes him 
a pioneer in the work, and says, "In response to his request abun- 
dant subscriptions in money and material were at once forthcoming," 
The facts upon record show that Mr. Gallatin had no part in the first 
efforts of the New York University, and that the first $100,000 were 
pledged before he entered the council. He said publicly, in October, 
1830, " Lately honored with a seat in the council of the university, I 
have not yet had an opportunity of ascertaining the particular views 
of the friends of the institution." 

This biography is also very defective in its account of Mr. Gallatin's 
resignation. It quotes a private letter in which Mr. Gallatin says, 
"Finding that a certain portion of the clergy had obtained the con- 
trol, and that their object, though laudable, was special and quite 
distinct from mine, I resigned at the end of one year." But it omits 
to mention the issue between himself and the clergymen on the com- 
mittee of organization, viz, Drs. Samuel H. Cox, Jonathan Wainright, 
and Chancellor Mathews. It was the then new question whether men 
might not have a college degree without any language save their 
mother tongue. Mr. Gallatin said : 

No possible injury can arise from embracing the opportunity offered by the 
new university to make a fair experiment of what may properly be called an Eng- 

single university? The matter was talked of. In the very month when the first 
subscription was obtained for the new enterprise, a leading subscriber said: 'It 
is the object of the projectors to aggregate such institutions as exist in the city in 
a respectable university, of which Columbia College may become the brightest 
star in the constellation.' A single meeting of committees of Columbia College 
and of the university was held at the beginning of 1830, but without result. 
The following month the boards of Columbia College and the university 
were invited to meet the city council in regard to a fine property which some 
thought should be the site of a great university. It was in the rear of the present 
city hall. The university committee were present and stated their readiness to 
unite upon terms that should be equitable and practicable. The Cohambia com- 
mittee were not present, and the hearing was deferred until they should be heard 
from. On the part of interested citizens it was proposed that the common council 
should give the property in the rear of the city hall to the two bodies if they would 
unite; that the integrity of Columbia College should not be disturbed; that the 
university council should also remain, and that the city council, corresponding 
to our present aldermen, should be the conlrolling power over both institutions. 

No traces appear of any further joint meeting of the conference committees of 
the two colleges. The simple fact was that Columbia could not lawfully retain 
its valuable property and resign the supreme control, while those represented in 
the university would not take less than an equal part in any metropolitan univer- 
sity movement which they might undertake. Nor was this for selfish or personal 
reasons on either side. It was, as I have said, because each championed a most 
valuable tendency in human thought. Possibly as to the ijarticular plan of union 
proposed in 1830 they were a little timid. They were afraid of federation under 
the direction of the board of aldermen. 

'•There was no lack of extended discussion of the university question in New 



NEW yOEK UmVERSITY. 261 

lish college. Before the Reformation the way to the word of God was obstriicted 
by the improper use of the Latin language. We now find the same impediment 
arresting a more general diffusion of human knowledge. 

The university consented that students might enter for special 
courses without anj^^ language save the English, but refused to give 
such students a degree. Nearly a year after Mr. Gallatin's resigna- 
tion a less radical proposition was made by the vice-president of the 
council, Judge Betts, who offered the following proposition : 

The full course of study shall comprise the Greek, Latin, French, Spanish, and 
German languages. Students, with the assent and advice of the chancellor and 
professors, may be allowed an option in the study of the languages, either as to 
the extent to which those branches shall be pursued or the particular languages to 
be studied. 

The council declined to organize a full college course omitting the 
classical languages. They thus threw away an opportunity of antici- 
pating by more than a generation the system now practiced success- 
fully. The position of the university in regard to college courses was 
not taken hastily. On the 31st of July, 1830, Dr. Mathews reported 
to the standing committee, as shown bj^ their minutes, his plan of a 
convention of distinguished scholars and teachers who might offer 
advice respecting the proposed plan of the new university. He stated 
that he had, "during an excursion made in the last four weeks, met 
with officers and gentlemen connected with various learned institu- 



York at that period. The thoughtf ulness of Mr. Charles Butler has placed at my 
command the data from which I derive these statements. 1 find publications on 
the side of the university by Academist, by Zeno, Candor, Impartiality, and by 
Plebs, and on the side of Columbia by Jurisconsultus, Freeholder, and Civis, 
and a ' Mechanic who pays taxes,' besides any number from 'Old Friends," Old 
Subscribers," and 'Careful Observers,' I find, as was natural, that there was 
quite a little stirring of feeling, not to say temper, in reference to the question 
whether there should be two universities or only one. Nicknames even were 
used. Those who wanted education centered in Columbia were called 'secta- 
rians,' 'patricians,' 'monkish spirits with protruding horn and cloven foot,' 
while on the other hand the university men were named ' radicals ' and ' disor- 
ganizers,' 'enemies of a high and generous system of education,' 'a designing 
set of Presbyterians and their dupes of other denominations.' All this irritation 
of feeling seems to us like the pamphlets of the time of the Long Parliament. I 
name them only as showing the depth of conviction which then existed. The 
convictions, I repeat, were allied with tendencies deep down in every large com- 
munity of the Anglo-Saxon race. The existence of these tendencies is the salva- 
tion of Anglo-Saxon nations. We can not obliterate the tendencies. We ought 
not to obliterate them if we could. The two existing universities in New York 
are monuments of the two tendencies. 

"I am not aware that within sixty years the fundamental conditions have par- 
ticularly changed; neither conservatism nor liberalism has vanished. Trinity 
Church has not abrogated the conditions placed upon Columbia College. The 
university has not changed its charter provision forbidding any exclusion from 
office on account of religion. 

"Absolute consolidation to-day of the two is no more possible than in 1830. In 
fact, it is more difficult, because every dollar which the university possesses has 
been given by private citizens and under the conditions that I have named." 



262 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

tions and with men of higli literary reputation from Europe; that he 
had received from them expressions of friendlj^ feelings in relation 
to the proposed university. " He suggested ' ' the expediency of invit- 
ing a convention of learned and literary men from the several States 
of our Union at which the whole subject of education might be dis- 
cussed," and Dr. Mathews, Dr. Wainright, and Mr. John Delafield 
were appointed a committee to call such a convention. Before the 
date of the meeting they added to their number Mr. Gallatin. 

At this convention Mr. Gallatin advocated at length his plan of an 
English college alongside of the classical college. He was supported 
by Dr. Gallaudet, of Hartford. They were opposed by Dr. Lieber, of 
Boston; President Marsh, of the University of Vermont; President 
Patton, of Princeton, and President Mason, of Hobart College. The 
university seems to have followed the advice of the majority. 

Other conspicuous participants in this convention were Jared 
Sparks, Professor Silliman, George Bancroft, Theodore D. "Woolsey, 
with several scholars educated at continental universities. Mr. Ban- 
croft's address argued affirmatively the question, "Whether the 
country in its present condition demands a university, and whether 
anj responsibility rests upon New York with relation to it." 

This convention, which continued in session from Wednesday to 
Saturday, the 23d of October, 1830, quickened the energies of the 
university council. Twenty-six members attended the council the 
following Saturday and appointed as the committee on the plan of 
university organization Drs. Wainwright and Mathews, Albert Gal- 
latin, William Seaman, James Lenox, James Tallmadge, and Samuel 
H. Cox. This committee were thoroughly agreed upon the establish- 
ment of a graduate or university school which should enroll not 
only matriculants as candidates for honors, but also ' ' attending mem- 
bers," and, second, that the undergraduate college students should 
be given wide election among the courses offered, but the bachelor's 
diploma was reserved for those who completed "a full classical, 
philosophical, and mathematical course." Among the proposed pro- 
fessorships in the graduate school one was to comprise ' ' the philoso- 
phy of education and the instruction of teachers." The proposed 
professorships anticipated largelj^ what is now required for the six 
New York university schools, namely, the college, the graduate 
school,, the schools of pedagogy, engineering, law, and medicine. In 
the spring of 1832 an optimistic view of the resources of the univer- 
sity stated, "The university has now on hand a capital of about 
$40,000, with a subscription of about $50,000 more, that may be con- 
sidered as good." Dr. Cox proposed that $25,000 be counted as en- 
dowment to jdeld $1,500; that $2,000 be raised by annual subscrip- 
tion; that 15,000 be expected from classical students, and 12,500 from 
nonclassical, and that on this prospect of $11,000 or a little more 
the work of instruction should be begun. This estimate allowed an 



iSTEW YOEK UNIVEESITY. 263 

expenditure of $75,000 for gronnds and buildings. Accordingly, on 
tlie 2d daj'- of October Chancellor Mathews reported that "the chan- 
cellor and professors were inaugurated on Wednesday last, and the 
institution is now opened with the most flattering prospects." The 
list of professors and lecturers adopted at this meeting was as fol- 
lows: John Mulligan, Latin and Greek languages; Henry P. Tappan, 
intellectual and moral philosophy and belles lettres; S. F. B. Morse, 
the history of art; Edward Robinson, Greek and oriental languages; 
William Enenpeutch, German language and literature; George Bush, 
adjunct, Hebrew language and literature; Miguel Cabrera de ISTavares, 
Spanish language and literature; Lorenzo L. Da Ponte, Italian lan- 
guage and literature; Charles Parmantier, French language and 
literature; Henry Bostwick, lecturer on history, geography, and 
chronology; Francis Lieber, lecturer on commerce, agriculture, and the 
mechanic arts; Samuel H. Cox, lecturer on moral philosophy; Henry 
Vethake, lecturer on history; Charles P. McHvaine, lecturer on 
sacred antiquities; David B. Douglass, lecturer on physical astron- 
omy; John Torrey, lecturer on chemistry. 

The impartial student of the university history of this day must be 
impressed with the thought that the three years of preliminary work 
from December 16, 1829, to October, 1832, had been most prudent, 
farseeing, thorough, and liberal. The scholars and thinkers had 
done their part well. Also the men of business and wealth on the 
board made large plans in regard to material things. 

The council in their application for a charter named 1250,000 as the 
sum required for an effective beginning. Five hundred thousand 
dollars endowment was expected within a short time. They judged 
that a great building would attract great endowments. Except for 
the financial calamities which befell New York City and the entire 
country, their hopes would probably have been realized. General 
Tallmadge, the president of the council, at the university commence- 
ment, 1839, spoke as follows: 

The bold attempt to rear this noble edifice by private benefactions met with 
repeated discouragements, and finally suffered the common and unparalleled 
embarrassments of 1835, 1836, and 1837 — the great fire and the commercial revul- 
sions. Pecuniary embarrassments are often the fruitful source of mischief. The 
university has had its share of calamities springing from this source. 

With a subscription of about 1100,000 they undertook to secure 
grounds and buildings costing over twice that amount. There was 
an entire lack of productive endowment and a constant succession of 
annual deficits. While a few earnest friends of the university were 
constant in their liberality, their gifts barely, supported the under- 
graduate work. They were not upon a scale to enable the council to 
carry out its original programme of university instruction. 

The first result, therefore, of the poverty of the university was the 
relinquishment of graduate instruction in arts and science. Without 



264 HISTORY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

endowed professorships and fellowships, the work planned on so hand- 
some a scale could not be begun. There seems to have been for a 
time certain courses in "the first general department," but only for 
"attending members," whose sole duties were to pay their fees and 
to keep good order. No student ai)peared on the early records as 
completing any graduate work for the master's degree or for other 
"honors." 

The spirit of a university faculty nevertheless pervaded many of 
the professors. Very notable achievements were made in the other 
fields assigned to the first general department, namely, scientific and 
scholarly research and "the diffusion of knowledge." 

Within ten years of the founding of the university two notable 
inventions were perfected within the walls of the new building by two 
professors of the faculty of arts and science. The popular verdict 
has long since confirmed the claims of these men, which it seems fit- 
ting to give here in their own words. 

Prof. Samuel F. B. Morse, upon the 30th of June, 1853, said to the 
universit}^ alumni : 

Your Philomathean Hall — that room of the university — was the birthplace of 
the recording telegraph. The credit of my invention does pertain to your alma 
mater, and if this fact adds character and name to our institution, I shall experi- 
ence a higher gratification than any personal deference that has been or can be 
bestowed upon me by foreign nations or my own countrymen. 

The first public telegram was sent over wires in the university build- 
ing. It is still in existence and was exhibited by the university at 
Chicago in 1893. 

Dr. John W. Draper, under date of March 6, 1873, wrote to Scrib- 
ner's Monthlj^ as follows : 

As to the photographic portrait from the life, it was I who took the first, and 
that not merely in America. At that time photographic portraiture was con- 
sidered in Europe to be an impracticable thing, and when the difficulties were 
overcome the credit of the success was given to me. (See Edinburgh Review, 
January, 1843, p. 339.) 

This first photographic portrait from life is in the possession of Sir 
William John Hershell, of Oxford, England. It was kindly lent by 
hit to the writer for exhibition at the Chicago Exposition. 

Others in the facultj^ did conspicuous work in research in language, 
philosophy, and science. 

The first university professional school was that of law. As early 
as 1835 the Hon. Benjamin F. Butler, at the request of the university 
council, submitted a plan for the organization of a school of law, 
which was published and has had an influence in shaping the instruc- 
tion in law to the present time. The instruction was not actually 
begun until 1838, when three prof essors were inaugurated, each giving 
an address which was published. Their lectures did not continue 
regularly longer than 1839. Mr. Butler's course required three years 



NEW YORK UNIVEKSITY. 265 

for its completion. These were named the primary, junior, and senior 
years, to each of which a professor was assigned. Besides tliis work 
in classes a general course was to be given by the principal professor 
to the entire school, running through the entire three years. The 
school was to be in session afternoons and evenings. Mr. Butler's 
name remained on the roll of the faculty as the professor of law for 
some twenty years. At that date, 1858, regular instruction was 
resumed and has not since been interrupted. 

The plan of a faculty of medicine was included alongside that of 
the faculty of law in the statutes adopted in 1831. The council as 
early as 1836 took action looking toward a faculty of medicine. A 
full discussion of a medical education appears in a report of the com- 
mittee of the council. This report named the four years required in 
the German and French faculties as a desirable period, but agreed 
upon two years as the only practicable term in America. They 
advised in favor of 24 professors and as many adjunct professors. A 
faculty was elected in part, but on account of the financial difficulties 
arising the council proved unable to provide accommodations for the 
school of medicine, and instruction was not begun. Five years later 
the effort was renewed, and on the 27th of January, 1841, the faculty 
of medicine was elected, consisting of 6 professors, as follows: Valen- 
tine Mott, M. D., surgery; Granville S. Pattison, M. D., anatomy; 
John Revere, M. D., theory and practice of medicine; Martyn Paine, 
M. D., institutes of medicine and materia medica; Gunning S. Bed- 
ford, M. D., gynecology; John William Draper, M. D., chemistry. 

The members of the faculty of medicine organized their work in a 
large granite building on the west side of Broadway, a few streets 
south of Washington place, where they continued for ten years, 
removing in 1857 to a building on Fourteenth street where Tam- 
many Hall now stands. This building was burned, with valuable edu- 
cational collections, in 1866. After a temporary stay in one of the 
buildings of the New York Hospital, they finally removed to their 
present site on East Twenty-sixth street, opposite the gateway of 
Bellevue Hospital. 

Thus in the first decade of the university, 1831-1841, there are 
found four faculties undertaken, namely, the undergraduate faculty, 
named "the second general department," the faculty of graduate 
instruction, the faculty of law, and the faculty of medicine, all included 
in the first general department. Two of these three faculties, how- 
ever, were at the end of the decade in a condition of suspended ani- 
mation. The plans of the leaders of the university were a half century 
ahead of the demands of the nation. They were in advance of the 
views of the men who could have supplied the endowment which might 
even at that date have put them in successful operation. 

The first decade, save the last two j^ears, was under the leadership 
of Chancellor Mathews, 1831-1839. His work closed with a serious 



266 HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDTJCATION IK NEW YOEK. 

alienation from liim of the faculty of arts and science. It arose from 
his proposing, on account of the need of retrenchment, the cutting 
down the undergraduate faculty to five or six professors. The dis- 
placed professors very naturally were aggrieved. Warm feelings 
were stirred up on either side; finally the matter became a subject of 
State investigation. This report submitted to the legislature, Decem- 
ber 31, 1839, declared : 

From all the testimony presented to the committee they are satisfied that the 
reorganization of the faculty of science and letters grew out of considerations 
connected with the condition of the finances of the university; and that the plan 
was proposed and consummated in good f aitli and without sinister motives on the 
part of the council; and the committee can not but regard the final proceed- 
ings of the council in removing the said professors by the act of 29th September, 
1838, as justified by the hostile action of the professors, and their combined deter- 
mination not to submit to the measures adopted by the council in good faith. 

The committee consider the dissension between the professors and the council 
as a peculiarly unfortunate one, and like most other contests of a similar charac- 
ter it has been conducted on both sides with a strong infusion of personal feeling. 

The second decade of the university began under Theodore Freling- 
huysen as chancellor, 1839-1850. It was a period of quiet, excellent 
work by the undergraduate college and the school of medicine. No 
new educational measure was attempted by him nor was anj^ marked 
addition made to the university's resources, except the reduction of 
the debt at the time of his inauguration. The Rev. Dr. Gardiner 
Spring was chancellor ad interim, 1850-1852. 

The third chancellor, the Rev. Dr. Isaac Ferris, completed almost 
two decades in service, being appointed in 1852 and retiring in the year 
1870. He signalized his entrance upon office by the raising of funds 
to extinguish the debt of the university. This was followed by the 
beginning of the general endowment, which was the gift of three or 
four gentlemen, to the amount of nearly 1200,000. The law faculty 
was revived under him in 1858, after its long suspension. A second 
notable educational event of the period was the founding of scientific 
courses leading to the degrees of bachelor and master of science, 
and of technological instruction leading to the degree of civil engi- 
neer. All this had been contemplated in the original founding of the 
university, but it was not till the decade of the war of the Union that 
public sentiment in the United States supported colleges in breaking 
away from the tradition that the baccalaureate degree must be re- 
served wholly for those students who have pursued classical studies.^ 
The first bachelor of science degree granted by the university was 
given as early as 1857, and the first civil engineering degrees appear 
to have been given in 1860. 

In its fifth decade (1870-1881) the university was under the chan- 
cellorship of Dr. Howard Crosby. Dr. Crosby, outside the university, 

' It was the summer of 1862 when Congress made the munificent land grant for 
technological instruction. 



NEW YORK UNIVERSITY. 267 

had abundant work to tax his utmost energies. lie called himself, 
half seriously, a chancellor ad interim. The same title was taken by 
Dr. John Hall, who succeeded Dr. Crosby. It was possible for neither 
to give the university the first place in his efforts. No similar experi- 
ment in the direction of dispensing with an executive officer has, 
perhaps, been attempted bj^ any universit}^ or prominent college in 
America. Nor was the period chosen an opportune time for the experi- 
ment. The years succeeding the close of the civil war brought a new 
educational epoch to America. Great universities were founded; 
ancient colleges were transformed into universities. The decision of 
the eminent business men of the council that the university executive- 
office business might be conducted by something less than the entire 
talents and energies of one man was a compliment to the gentlemen 
whom they called to the chancellorship. It was not a testimony to 
the wisdom of the council in the conduct of affairs. Of .course little 
or no advance was made by the university while it possessed only a 
nominal executive head. In 1880-81 the fact of existing debt and 
deficit incurred in connection with the undergraduate college and the 
lack of growth in the same led a portion of the council to advocate 
the suspension of the college and the expenditure of strength upon 
the professional or graduate schools. Legal obstacles forbade the 
carrying out of the measure ; nor did it appear to very many that the 
strengthening of the university work proper, however desirable, 
could be best accomplished by letting go undergraduate instruction. 

DR. MACCRACKEN'S ADMINISTRATION. 

In 1884 New York University called to its service Henry Mitchell 
MacCracken, who at that time was chancellor of the Western Univer- 
sity of Pennsylvania, in the city of Allegheny, opposite Pittsburg. 
The formal call extended to the professorship of philosophy. An 
informal request was made of him that he should take up as soon as 
possible the strengthening and enlargement of the university. At 
his suggestion the office of vice-chanQellor was created, while the 
chancellorship was made for the time an honorary position without 
salary, as in the English universities. Dr. John Hall, who had been 
serving as chancellor ad interim, accepted the chancellor's office upon 
this understanding. This disposition of the executive office was made 
public at the commencement in 1885. 

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE (UNDERGRADUATE). 

The undergraduate college was given enlargement in 1884-1889 in 
the departments of physics, English, history, and modern languages. 

The theory was consistently inaintained that the undergraduate 
student in every case must be led at least a little way into each of the 
three great fields of study— language and literature, philosophy and 
history, exact and descriptive science. 



268 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

This theory, it will be noted hereafter, has been maintained also in 
the introduction of the group system in 1894. 

The opportunity for election in undergraduate study was until 1894 
confined to a choice between the classical and scientific courses. These 
differed chiefly in this, that the latter substituted science for language 
to some extent, and substituted the modern for the ancient language 
throughout. Also as before named, students of science were enabled 
to pursue civil engineering by taking extra hours of study. 

The old traditions of rhetorical training for all students, attend- 
ance at daily prayers, instruction in morals and in the Christian 
religion, were carefully maintained. 

The provision for undergraduate specialization in the direction of 
engineering was broadened by the addition of a fifth year prepara- 
tory to the attainment of the degree of civil engineer. This was 
announced first in the catalogue of 1886. 

In this same catalogue the subdivision of arts and science into two 
departments was abandoned, and emphasis was laid rather on the 
distinction between the undergraduate college of arts and science on 
the one hand, and the school of civil engineering as a technological 
school, on the other. 

GRADUATE SCHOOL. 

In 1886 the graduate school was opened. Graduate instruction had 
been in the thoughts of the men who founded the university in 1830. 
The degrees of master of arts or science or of doctor of science or 
philosophy, could henceforth be obtained upon examination only. 
The nearness of the Astor Library assisted graduate study. 

The new chairs of comparative religion and pedagogy in the grad- 
uate school were established in 1886. A relatively larger place was 
given each of these studies than had before been accorded it by any 
university in America. The enrollment of resident students in the 
graduate school the first year, 1885-86, was 12. This rapidly increased 
until the attendance reached its present number. 

A large majority of the graduate students were enrolled in the group 
of philosophy and history. Language and literature enrolled the next 
largest number. Exact and descriptive sciences on account of the 
lack of ample laboratory facilities had the smallest enrollment. 

SCHOOL OP PEDAGOGY. 

In 1890 the School of Pedagogy was organized. In 1887 a request 
had come to the vice-chancellor for the establishment of Instruction 
in pedagogics for the benefit of college graduates. A single course in 
the history of education was announced under Jerome Allen, Ph. D., 
who was appointed professor of pedagogy in the graduate school. Six 
students were enrolled in this graduate course the first jeav. In addi- 
tion to this work in the graduate school, courses of lectures were 



NEW YOEK UNIVERSITY. 269 

offered by Dr. Allen to nonmatriculants. Examinations upon these 
courses were appointed somewhat after the pattern of the university 
extension examinations of the English universities. The interest 
excited by these courses encouraged the university to announce the 
plan of a school of pedagogy, which should be parallel to the schools 
of law and medicine. Degrees in pedagogy were proposed. The lack 
of endowment delayed the opening of the school until September, 1890. 

The chairs of instruction were history of education, experimental 
and physiological psychology, descriptive psychology, institutes of 
pedagogy, with lectureships on comj^arative study of national school 
sj^stems, sociology in relation to education, and physiological peda- 
gogics. 

So far as known to those who have wrought in this school, it is the 
first university school of pedagogy to undertake professional instruc- 
tion in pedagogy on the same plane with university instruction in 
law and medicine. Also New York University was first in establish- 
ing degrees in pedagogy. The public announcement by this univer- 
sity of its purpose to grant such degrees was made in March, 1890, 
Before, however, any degrees had been conferred, the university 
regents at Albany conferred an honorary doctorate of pedagogy upon 
an eminent teacher. The first degrees in pedagogy upon examina- 
tion were conferred by New York University in 1891. 

The university deemed it Avise to proceed in the matter of degrees 
in pedagogy according to the usage in law and medicine. It did not 
therefore demand a bachelor's degree as a prerequisite, but required 
the diploma of a State normal college or its equivalent in order to 
enrollment. Testimonials of two years of successful teaching were 
demanded as a condition for the master's degree. For the doctor's 
degree four years of successful teaching were required. At first the 
master's course was made distinct from the course leading to the doc- 
torate and adapted to less advanced students. At a later date the 
master's course was made identical with the first part of the doctor's 
course. The university was quite free to devise new degrees such as 
might best quicken the teaching spirit of the generation. This was 
the consideration which fixed the conditions of the degrees of master 
and doctor of pedagogy so that they were substantially equal to the 
conditions of the degree of master in law, or doctor in medicine, with 
the added requirement of experience in teaching. The requirements 
for the degrees of master and doctor of pedagogy are at present as 
follows : 

The degree of master of pedagogy will be conferred upon a student who has 
met the following conditions: 

I. He must have been credited with attendance ux)on the required lectures and 
seminaries, 

II. He must have siiccessfully completed four courses, three of which must be 
major courses. 

III. He must either have presented a certificate showing two years' successful 



270 HISTORY OF HiaHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

experience in teaching, or he must have taught one year under the direction of the 
faculty and with such success as to receive their approval. 

TV. He must have paid the fee of $20 for each major course, and $10 for each 
minor course required. 

The degree of doctor of pedagogy will be conferred upon a student who has met 
the following conditions: 

I. He must have been credited with attendance upon the required lectures and 
seminaries. 

II. He must have successfully completed the five major and five of the minor 
courses. Certain minor courses are elective; the student is required to choose one 
of these in making xiv his list of minor courses. 

III. He must have presented the prescribed thesis, as defined hereafter, and 
have received approval of the same. 

IV. He must either have presented a certificate showing four years' successful 
experience in schoolroom woi'k, or he must have taught two years under the 
direction of the faculty and with such success as to receive their approval. 

V. He must have paid the fee of |20 for each major course and $10 for each 
minor course required. 

The plan of the TJniversity School of Pedagogy has been accepted 
by several universities in America. Special professional degrees in 
pedagogy have also been adopted elsev^here. 

The success of the School of Pedagogy is chiefly due to the efforts 
of the woman's advisory committee of the university. As this body 
is perhaps unique in university history, the following is given from 
the statute of 1890 which established it: 

The council of the University of the City of New York, recognizing that the 
present year's enrollment of graduate students includes the names of women 
graduates of various colleges, and further recognizing that the school of peda- 
gogy is likely to enroll women in equal numbers with men, deems it expedient 
that this corporation shall have the cooperation of representative women who 
will be interested in the promotion of university work for women in the most 
advanced lines of study and investigation. 

To this end the council hereby establishes The Woman's Advisory Committee 
OF THE University op the City of New York, to be composed of 20 mem- 
bers, women, appointed by the council, one-fourth to go out of office annually 
upon May 1, when their successors shall be appointed by the council. 

The council places the council room at the command of this committee for its 
meetings at any time not reserved for meetings of the council. It refers to the 
committee the making of its own by-laws and appointment of its own officers; 
also the formation of plans and the making of recommendations for the advance- 
ment of the university's work for women; but all such plans or recommendations 
shall, as in the case of other committees, be reported to and approved by the 
council. 

UNIVEKSITY LAW SCHOOL, 

The University Law School in 1886 had but two professors and 72 
students. It was reorganized in 1891 by the calling of Dr. Austin 
Abbott to the deanship and the addition of two professors, thus dou- 
bling the force of instructors giving daily lectures. Further, the old 
arrangement of apportioning the fees among the instructors was 
abolished, and instead a definite salary was assigned to each profes- 



NEW YOEK UNIVEESITY. 271 

sor. The division of subjects was as follows: Equity jurisprudence; 
pleading- and evidence; law of contracts and elementary law; law of 
real and personal property and of negotiable paper, law of procedure 
and torts. Six other important subjects were treated by lecturers 
secured from among eminent members of the New York bar. 

A new feature was introduced in the subclasses in topics for special 
study. These were optional, and they were placed under capable 
young graduates of the school. A small extra fee was charged for 
these special courses. Further, quiz classes were introduced without 
extra charge. 

By the direction of the chancellor, Dr. Abbott organized graduate 
courses, open only to persons already admitted to the bar or possessing 
the degree of bachelor of laws. Thirty-three students were enrolled 
in these courses the first year, 1891-92. Dr. Abbott's long service at 
the New York bar, and especially his labors in law literature, ren- 
dered his graduate courses especially popular. 

Inasmuch as the State of New York had provided by a recent law 
for the admission of women as well as men to the legal profession, it 
seems that justice required that they should not be excluded from law 
schools. In the fall of 1890 three women were admitted to the school, 
and took their degrees in May, 1892. The largest enrollment of women 
has not yet reached 5 per cent of the whole number. 

Contemporaneous with the admission of women to the law school a 
university-extension course on elementary law was established for 
nonmatriculants, and in particular for business women. The lecturer 
for the yea,Y 1890-91 was Mrs. Emily Kempin, who had received the 
degree of doctor of -laws from the University of Zurich, in Switzer- 
land, Four courses, each comprising 12 lectures, were given. Tliese 
lectures occupied three forenoons each week for six months. They 
were repeated upon three evenings a week to classes made up of per- 
sons unable to attend in the daytime. Funds for the support of this 
lectureship were x^rovided by a corporation of 12 women, entitled the 
Woman's Legal Education Society of New York. 

UNIVERSITY MEDICAL COLLEGE. 

The University Medical College in the circular of 1884-85 required 
only two terms of medical study, covering each six months. Its prog- 
ress was hindered by a heavy indebtedness upon its property. With 
the year 1887, however, advanced steps began hy the building of the 
Loomis laboratory and the reconstruction of the lecture rooms in the 
older buildings. In 1891, being the fiftieth anniversary of the medi- 
cal college, the course was prolonged to two years of eight months 
each. The mortgage was removed and the professors were assigned 
fixed salaries, and thus made free to give their time and energy to 
instruction. These successive steps were made possible by the gift 
of over a third of a million dollars, which was almost equally appor- 



272 HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDUCATIOlsr IN NEW YOEK. 

tioned for three objects: First, the liquidation of the mortgage upon 
the older propert}^; second, the erection of the Loomis laboratory; 
third, the endowment of the laboratory not only for the purposes of 
instruction, but of research. The result of this elevation of the stand- 
ard of instruction brought about, not unexpectedly, a large decrease 
in the number of students. In 1890-91 there were 696 students, decreas- 
ing in successive years to 547, 460, and 362. This last was the lowest 
number enrolled under the requirements of a three years' course for 
the degree of doctor of medicine.^ 

The palm of leadership in the work of the medical college in this 
period was awarded by all to the senior professor. Dr. Alfred L. Loomis, 
who served the university in the department of the institutes and 
practice of medicine from 1864 until his death, January 23, 1895. 

FEOM THE PURCHASE OF UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS TO THE PRESENT TIME. 

In November, 1890, Dr. MacCracken, in his annual report to the 
university corporation, spoke as follows: 

The marked advance of business into the neighborhood of the university raises 
the question whether our work might be advanced by any change of place. 

Our work for undergraduates might certainly be enlarged and improved were 
grounds of some extent, within easy distance of the chief residence quarter of our 
city, placed at our command. 

Our work for the school of law, the school of pedagogy, and the graduate divi- 
sion (except, perhaps, in courses requiring laboratory work) can have no better 
center than Washington square. Should, however, this ground become exceed- 
ingly valuable for business, the university could reserve for these objects the upper- 
most floor or floors of a great building to be erected upon this site, while the half 
dozen floors below might be made to add largely to our resources. 

The university college for undergraduates, planted in some neighborhood easily 
accessible, could en^oy the use of land free from ordinary taxation and constantly 
rising in value. At first the roll of students might be diminished, yet in a short 
time a university college in a residence quarter, with attractive grounds, would 
fulfill more nearly the American ideal of a college than a college in a business 
locality ever can. 

The graduate work would not suffer by the carrying on of some courses in the 
university building on this grouni and other courses at the university college. 

The report asked for the appointment of a "committee upon uni- 
versity needs and endowments. " This committee consisted of George 
Munro, David Banks, and William F. Haveraeyer, with Charles But- 
ler, the president of the corporation, and Dr. MacCracken, as ex officio 
members. The majority of the older members of the council, while 
wishing well to the advanced movement, saw obstacles in its way 
which to them seemed almost insuperable. The committee upon July 
1, 1891, took an option for one year upon a plateau of land between East 
One hundred and eightieth street and East One hundred and eighty- 
first street, overhanging the east bank of the Harlem River, with the 
Hudson and the Palisades in full view at the west and Long Island 

'A course of four years has since been adopted. 



NEW YORK UNIVERSITY. 273 

Sound visible to tlie eastward. The tract stretched from Sedgwick 
avenue to Aqueduct avenue, unbroken by streets, a distance of over 
1,000 feet, while from north to south the greatest width is over 800 
feet. Besides this area included in the college campus, a site for 
boathouses on the Harlem River was secured, also grounds east and 
west of the university campus, but separated from it by city streets. 
These neighboring lots were designed to be sold to Greek-letter fra- 
ternities, professors, and others who might be especially desirous to 
plant themselves near by the undergraduate college. Subscriptions 
were solicited for the purchase of these grounds, to become binding 
when $200,000 had been promised. The total cost of the lands 
included in the college campus was about $400,000, The neighboring 
property purchased cost about $150,000 additional. 

After the inception of the uptown movement Dr. John Hall retired 
from the chancellorship, which was conferred upon Vice-Chancellor 
MacCracken. By personal solicitation the latter secured subscriptions 
for the purchase of University Heights from more than 100 citizens 
of ISTew York, amounting to $200,000, including the boathouse site, 
which was accepted as a subscription of 120,000, University Heights 
passed into the possession of the university on July 1, 1892, 

A 3^ear later a few friends of the university purchased the estate 
lying immediately north of the university property and placed it on 
the city map as University Heights North, They were able thus to 
defend the University Heiglits neighborhood against undesirable uses, 
also to control the laying out of avenues and to enable the chancel- 
lor to secure a suitable residence. 

Further, the Collegiate Church was provided with a handsome site 
fronting on the campus between Oxford Place and Loring Place. The 
Collegiate Consistory, the oldest ecclesiastical corporation on Man- 
hattan Island, had generouslj" resolved to establish a church at 
University Heights, no church edifice existing at that time within 
three-quarters of a mile of this point. They would provide not only 
fitting church buildings, but also the support of a minister out of their 
endowments, because of their interest in the work of the university, 
whose first three chancellors were honored members of the Dutch 
Reformed Church. 

The university corporation was to profit further by "University 
Heights North," in that it was to receive the gift from certain gentle- 
men concerned of any profits derived by them from the transaction. 
Thus the total amount of land purchased, either by the university or 
on its behalf, approached 50 acres. 

The work of securing subscriptions for the buildings at University 
Heights was carried on during the year 1893. The laboratory of 
chemistry had been pledged by Mr, William F. Havemeyer, of the 
university council, being the very first pledge toward the up-town 
movement. The larger part of the cost of the hall of languages was 
3176 18 



274 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUOATIOlsr IN NEW YORK. 

secured in 1893 by Dr. Alfred L. Loomis. It was resolved early in 
1894 to remove the college by October 1 of that year. This was made 
possible by the erection of several buildings of temporary character. 
The first stone for a building at University Heights was laid on 
Founders' Day, April 18, 1894, by the graduating class. This stone 
was taken from the walls of the old building upon Washington square, 
whose demolition had already begun. The last university exercises 
in the old building were held on the 18th of May, when the alumni 
held a farewell reunion. On October 1 there were ready for occu- 
pancy at University Heights five buildings, including the old man- 
sion. The hall of languages was completed in November, the Have- 
meyer laboratory not until March 16. The great central building is 
at the date of this writing in the course of erection, comprising the 
library, administration offices, auditorium, and museum. Ultimately 
the entire building will, it is expected, be devoted to library uses, 
accommodating more than 1,000,000 volumes. For many years the 
library will not require the great hall, which will be used as an audi- 
torium, seating over 1,500 people. The terrace-like extension toward 
the west will for the present form a museum about 250 feet long and 
nearly 40 feet wide, with a central skylight running its entire length. 
This will be subdivided into museums illustrating the work of various 
dei3artments. A very striking feature of the library building is the 
ambulatory, which forms a semicircular colonnade above the western 
edge of the museum roof and extends southward to the hall of lan- 
guages and northward to the hall of philosophy. It is constructed of 
Indiana stone, with a roof of Spanish tiles. Below the central i^oint 
of this ambulatory is a fountain set against the wall, with a memorial 
tablet supported on three lions' heads from which the water pours 
into two huge granite basins placed one upon the other, whence it is 
conveyed to a drinking fountain on the edge of the avenue 30 feet 
below. The memorial tablet contains the following inscription : 

New York University, chartered MDCCCXXXI. 
University Heights, purchased MDCCCXCI. 
University College, removed MDCCCXCIV. 
This library was begun October, MDCCCXCV. 
Bibliotheca f ons eruditionis. 

The most striking characteristic of the library interior will be the 
lighting of the reading room from a dome in imitation of the 
Pantheon, while around the reading room will be not less than 18 
seminary rooms, one for each department, with a stack room adjoin- 
ing. The entire cost of this structure, including the ambulatory, will 
be about three-quarters of a million dollars. 

The plan of University Heights from the beginning included resi- 
dence halls for students. The old mansion was at once fitted up for 
students' use and named in honor of the venerable president of the 
council the Charles Butler Hall. In the fall of 1895 the college close 
was planned on the eastern side of the campus. It comprises at least 



NEW YOEK UNIVEKSITY. 275 

five residence halls with a dining hall, to be known, unless designated 
by the givers otherwise, East Hall, Northeast Hall, North Hall, North- 
west Hall, West Hall, and South Hall. East Hall was built in 1896 at 
a cost of $180,000. 

The final plan of University Heights comprises seven divisions of 
the entire territorj^ owned by the corporation. 

First, the "great quadrangle," of which the west side will be occu- 
pied by the library edifice and the halls of languages and philosophy, 
connected by the ambulatory, the north and south sides by the labo- 
ratories of science, and the west side by the small quadrangle. 

Second, the "small quadrangle," a central group of buildings about 
300 feet in length by 200 in breadth, around a court. These will be 
used chiefly for athletic and society purposes, albeit the south side 
will probably be a laboratory or museum. 

Third, the "college close " with its six halls, inclosing a court which 
will measure about 200 by 300 feet. Each of these three divisions, it 
will be seen, will have abundant open space with air and sky. 

Fourth, the Ohio field with its circumference of more than one- 
quarter of a mile. This field is given its name in recognition of the 
gifts of several Ohio men resident in New York, who contributed 
toward University Heights under a plan approved by the Ohio Society 
of New York in 1892, under the leadership of its president, Mr. Wil- 
liam Strong (since mayor of New York). 

Fifth, the " tennis courts." 

Sixth, the "west lawn," stretching to Sedgwick avenue. 

Seventh, the boathouses on the Harlem River. 

In connection with the material provision made for the university 
college students, may be named here the large addition to the exist- 
ing scholarships recently made. Up to 1895 in all the six schools of 
the University there were only three endowed scholarships ; all others 
were tuition scholarships the burden of which was borne by the gen- 
eral treasury. But recently the scholarship fund has increased from 
about $10,000 to almost 1100,000, of which about $60,000 belongs to 
the college or school of engineering and $35,500 to the school of ped- 
agogy. The founders of scholarships are. Miss Helen Miller Gould, 
Mrs. Hannah Ireland, Miss Ida NorthrojD, Prof. Richard H. Bull, 
Mr. R. G. Remsen, Mrs. Martha Buell Munn, Mrs. W. G. Hitchcock, 
and Mr. Frank Jay Gould, besides others who have given parts of 
scholarships. 

A new chapter in the educational work of New York University 
began with the occupancy of University Heights. The six schools 
are distributed to-day at three i3oints in New York City, which form 
a triangle of which one side is li miles in length, the other two sides 
respectively 9 and 10 miles. Since the removal noteworthy changes 
have been inaugurated in eveiy school. A brief view of the advance 
steps taken since January 1, 1894, will form a fitting conclusion of 
this history. 



276 HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IIS" NEW YOEK. 

First, the group system. Beginning witli the class entering in 1894, 
the freshmen are distributed into tliree sections, the first requiring 
both Greek and Latin; tlie second, allowing the replacing of one of 
these languages by a modern language ; the third, omitting the ancient 
languages altogether, and laying emphasis on preparation in science 
and the modern languages. 

At the beginning of the sophomore year the students must enter one 
of the ten parallel groups arranged for the last three years of under- 
graduate study. They are numbered and named as follows : 

I. Classical. VT. Philosophical-historical. 

II. Modern language. VII. Chemical-biological. 

III. Semitic. VIII, Physical-chemical. 

IV. English-classical. IX; Mathematical-physical. 
V. Historical-political. X. Civil engineering. 

A group once elected, the student's subjects are prescribed for at least 
two-thirds of his time during both the sophomore and junior years. The 
group system is thus sharply differentiated from the elective system ; 
at the same time it differs greatly from the old system in allowing the 
student to specialize in a very considerable-degree during his last three 
college years. This opportunity of specialization is still further 
enlarged for students of exceptional attainments and mature age, by 
allowing. them to substitute for the work of the senior year, except 
three hours each week, the first year's work of the University Law 
School, the University Medical College, or the University School of 
Pedagogy. 

■ After three years' trial, the group system proves successful. But 
the result of the opportunity given strong men for shortening their 
college course by combining with the senior year the first year of pro- 
fessional study can not be satisfactorily known for several years to 
come. 

The University College has as its dean, Henry M. Baird, D. D., 
LL. D. , the senior larof essor of the university. 

The University Graduate School, which at first was presided over by 
the chancellor, now has as dean, John Dyneley Prince, Ph. D. The 
candidate for a doctor's degree is required to choose a major subject 
in which he must take three courses, each running throughout an 
entire year, and all of them in the same department. The three 
minor courses may, one of them, be in the same department with the 
major; another must be in the same group. ^ A written examination is 
required in each course; besides these there is a final oral examination 
and a thesis demanded for the doctorate. The University Graduate 
School has attained success beyond the expectation of the faculty. 
This success is due in part to its being in the midst of a great com- 

^ For the purposes of graduate study, the entire field of learning is divided into 
three groups, namely, Language and literature, Philosophy and history, and the 
Exact and descriptive sciences. 








"\£'i^ ■•'jM 



NEW YORK UNIVERSITY. 277 

miTiiity, numbering more people within an hour's ride of the university 
building- on Washington Square than are found in the whole of 
Scotland. The result must be largely ascribed, however, to the zeal 
and industry of the professors, which has been out of all j)roportion to 
the small compensation received by them. 

The School of Engineering, which has recently taken on new strength, 
is presided over by Prof. Charles H. Snow, The equipment of the 
school has been multiplied tenfold since its removal to University 
Heights. Nevertheless, while the substructure exists for several lines 
of technological instruction, it is not thought wise to inaugurate at 
present departments of mechanical or mining engineering or archi- 
tecture. 'New buildings will be needed for these and endowment for 
several new professorships. 

The School of Pedagogy entered its new quarters in Washington 
Square building in 1895, but already they are proving narrow. A 
special library of pedagogy has been gathered, which j)romises to 
become one of the foremost collections of books treating of the sub- 
ject of education. The standard of the school has been maintained 
and advanced. About 70 ]3er cent of the school at this time are 
possessed of the bachelor's degree. The rest are as a rule graduates 
of normal schools. 

The school of law met with a severe loss in the death of its dean, 
Dr. Austin Abbott, which occurred April 19, 1895. ISTevertheless, the 
impress of his five j^ears' untiring work has remained. Fortunately 
for the school, new strength had been brought in before Dr. Abbott's 
death by the consolidation with the University School of a young 
corporation organized by Abner C. Thomas, LL. D., now surrogate 
of New York, for evening law instruction, known as the Metropolis 
Law School. The senior professor of this school, Clarence D. Ashley, 
had been made vice-dean of the University School, and is now 
acting as dean in Dr. Abbott's stead. Several younger men have 
been called to professorshi]3s, which they are filling successfully. 
The law library rooms, admirably arranged and lighted, were opened 
in 1895, upon the topmost floor of the new university building at 
Washington Square. The enrollment of students is much larger than 
at any time previous in the history of the university, approaching very 
nearly 600. 

The University Medical College took the advanced step of requir- 
ing a course of four years for all students entering after January 1, 
1896. Subsequently the State of New York enacted a law making a 
four years' course obligatory after 1897. It involved no little sacri- 
fice to go in advance of the State requirements. The immediate result 
of the step was a marked decrease in the numbers of the entering class. 
Nevertheless, the faculty count that the school gains in the quality of 
its students and will be enabled to perfect its four years' course the 
more successfully because the classes will not be overcrowded. 



278 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW TORK. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY OF NEW YORK UNIVERSITY. 

Statutes. 1832. 

History of the controversy. 1838. 

Act of incorporation with the ordinances and by-laws. 1849, 1883. 

Statutes [with] the act of incorporation . . . and by-laws. 1849. 

Act of incorporation passed April 18, 1831, amended April 7, 1849, amended by 
regents, January 12, 1883, with the ordinances and by-laws established March 
1, 1849, amended Apri] 17, 1888. 

Inauguration of Rev. Howard Crosby as chancellor, November 17, 1870. 

Commencement, June 18, 188o, report on the recent action of the council. 

History of the controversy in the University of the City of New York, with origi- 
nal documents and appendix, by the professors of the faculty of science and 
letters. 1838, 

Mason, Cyrus. G-rowth and prospects of the University of the City of New York; 
a discourse before the alumni association delivered at the University Place 
Church, on the evening before commencement. 1847. 

Ferris (Isaac), D. D. Address delivered at the opening of the law department 
of the University of the City of New York on the 35th of October, 1858. 

Council. Expositionrespectingthelatemeasuresof retrenchment adopted . . . 
which led to the dismissal of some of the professors in the faculty of science 
and letters. 1838. 

Vethake (Henry), Mulligan (John), and Torrey (John). Exposition of the rea- 
sons for the resignation of some of, the professors in the University of the 
City of New York. 1838. 

Arts and science, department of. Letter to the councilors from the professors of 
the faculty of science and letters. 1838. 

Council. Protest against the minute of a vote suspending the academical depart- 
ment. 1881. 

Arts and science, department of. Protest presented to the council against a pro- 
posed suspension of the undergraduate department, March 14, 1881, 

Anthon (G-. C). Narrative and documents connected with the displacement of 
the professor of the Greek language and literature in the University of the 
City of New York. 1851. 



COLGATE UNIVERSITY, 1846. 
By Prof. N. L. Andrews. 

This institution, located in Hamilton, N. Y., traces its history from 
1820, when a "literary and theological seminary" was opened, under 
the auspices of the Baptist Education Society of the State of New 
York, with Rev, Daniel Hascall, A. M, , as principal. 

The Education Society owed its origin to a desire, on the part of a 
few broad-minded and far-sighted Baptists in central New York, to 
secure a better training for the ministry of that denomination. Rev. 
Daniel Hascall had become pastor of the Baptist Church in Hamilton 
in 1812. He was a graduate of Middlebury College, Vermont, in the 
class of 1806. It is said that he was, at the time of the founding of 
the society, one of three only among Baptist ministers west of Albany 
who had' received a liberal education. In 1816 he suggested to the 



COLGATE UNIVERSITY. 279 

Rev. Nathaniel Kendrick, then visiting Hamilton, the importance ot 
establishing an institution, and in 1817, when Mr. Kendrick became 
a pastor in Eaton, IST. Y. , they, with a few other ministers and several 
laymen of sturdy mental and moral strength, united in forming the 
Baptist Education Society of the State of New York. These thirteen 
men met at the house of Jonathan Olmsted, and thirteen prayers and 
thirteen dollars constituted the first spiritual and material endow- 
ment of the new organization. 

Early in 1818, the first student, Jonathan Wade, began his studies 
in the house of Mr. Hascall. Eugenio Kincaid came soon after. 
These men became foreign missionaries, and did long and distinguished 
service in Burmah. Not until May 1, 1820, was the institution for- 
mally opened. A half dozen students then took possession of the 
third story of a building in the village, whose second story was occu- 
pied by the Hamilton Academy, and its first story by the district 
school. Principal Zenas Morse of the academy assisted Professor 
Hascall in giving instruction. In 1821 Rev. Nathaniel Kendrick was 
appointed professor of theology and moral philosophy. The increas- 
ing number of students soon required larger accommodations, and in 
1823 these were found in a larger building in the village. Even this 
soon proved inadequate, and a more suitable location, on a site ample 
for future needs, was opportunely offered by the generosity of Samuel 
Payne, one of the original thirteen, who in 1826 made over his farm 
to the Education Society. The site has great natural advantages, 
overlooking the village of Hamilton at a convenient distance, and 
commanding the view of a most picturesque landscape. 

The first building upon "the hill," now known as West College, 
was erected in 1827. The building of East College in 1834 was a 
material token of the institution's rapid growth. Its intellectual 
equipment had been meanwhile increased by the addition of six pro- 
fessors. Prominent among these were Barnas Sears, Asahel C. Ken- 
drick, George W. Eaton, and Stephen W. Taylor. The early course 
of instruction, mingling literarj^ and theological studies, covered three 
years. In 1829 it was extended to four years, in 1832 to six, and in 
1834 to eight. Of these two belonged to the academic department, 
four to a collegiate course, and two to theology. The first college 
class, numbering seven, was graduated in 1835. As yet, however, 
the institution had no power to confer degrees. It still continued to 
be an institution exclusively for ministerial education. Not until 
1839 were its doors opened for all students seeking higher education. 

Movements for a collegiate charter made in 1840 and in 1843 were 
for various reasons ineffective, but in 1846 an act of incorporation 
was obtained under the name of Madison University. This was the 
natural culmination of the rapid development of fifteen years preced- 
ing. The faculty compared favorably with other institutions. Asahel 
C. Kendrick and George W. Eaton were still prominent, while Thomas 



280 HISTORY OF HIGHEK EDUCATION IK NEW YORK. 

J. Conant and Jolin H. Raymond were among later accessions to a 
strong teaching force. The new university corporation made arrange- 
ments with the Education Society by which it came into use of the 
buildings and other educational facilities possessed by the latter, and 
the two corporations have since cooperated harmoniously. The trus- 
tees of the Education Society have the special oversight of the theo- 
logical department, known as the "Hamilton Theological Seminary," 
and possess the right of nominating all theological professors. They 
have the exclusive control of any endowments for theological instruc- 
tion, and the society is especially charged with the raising of means 
for the aid of ministerial students. 

Hardly a year had passed when a project was developed for the 
removal of the university to the city of Rochester. The movement 
had strong support in the boards and in the faculty, and the contro- 
versy continued nearly three years at meetings of the trustees, in 
educational conventions of representative Baptists, and in the courts. 
The friends of the Hamilton location triumphed by obtaining a per- 
petual injunction April 23, 1850. The advocates of removal, cooper- 
ating with the citizens of Rochester, united in establishing there two 
new institutions, the University of Rochester and the Rochester 
Theological Seminary, and for the organization of their faculty drew 
from Hamilton all the professors of Madison University except George 
W. Eaton and Philetus B. Spear. A large part of the students nat- 
urally followed. 

Madison University began, therefore, a new era in the autumn of 
1850. Its faculty was reorganized, and a movement for endowment 
was begun. Stephen W. Taylor, who in 1845 had left the faculty and 
in 1846 had become president of a college at Lewisburg, Pa., now 
Bucknell University, was called back to Hamilton as president of 
Madison University, and entered upon his duties in 1851. He is reck- 
oned as the second president, because in 1836 Dr. Nathaniel Kendrick 
was chosen president of the "Literary and Theological Institution,"' 
and, though he did not formally accept, was the virtual head of the 
institution until 1848. The friends of the university rallied to its 
support, students increased in number, and the administration of Dr. 
Taylor, which closed with his death in 1856, left it in a condition of 
prosperity which had not been surpassed in the period preceding the 
controversy over removal. During his administration, in 1853, Ebe- 
nezer Dodge became a theological professor. 

The administration of President Eaton covered the period between 
1856 and 1868. In 1860 a new and spacious building was erected for 
lecture rooms, the library and the chapel, the third story serving for 
the auditorium at commencements. This edifice is known as Alumni 
Hall. During the war, in common with other colleges, the university 
experienced a decrease of students. The beginning of the new era 
which came A^dth peace was attended by accessions of students and 



COLGATE UNIVERSITY. 281 

an increase of financial resources. Mr. John B. Trevor, of New York, 
gave $40,000 to establish scholarships for soldiers and their sons. 
Between 1865 and 1868 about $100,000 of additional endowment was 
secured. In August, 1868, Dr. Eaton resigned the presidency of the 
college and became president of the Theological Seminary. In this 
position he remained until his death in 1872. 

Dr. Ebenezer Dodge became the fourth president of the university 
in 1868. The increasing resources gave opportunity for expansion in 
educational appliances, and for enlargement in the corps of instruct- 
ors. The first year of his administration was marked by an increase 
and reorganization of the faculty. Among the young professors 
appointed at this time, who cooperated with the president in building 
up the reputation of the university, was John James Lewis, who held 
the chair of English and oratory until his greatly lamented death in 
1884. 

The commencement of 1869 was signalized by a celebration of the 
"jubilee year," or semicentennial of the university. The enthusiasm 
of patrons and alumni took form in the raising of a jubilee fund 
which amounted to $135,000; and in record of the progress of the insti- 
tution a volume was published in 1872 entitled. The First Half Century 
of Madison University. In the prosecution of efforts for endowment 
Philetus B. Spear was especially prominent. He had been connected 
with the institution, first as instructor and afterwards as professor, since 
his graduation in 1836. To his firmness and sagacity had been largelj^ 
due the defeat of the effort to remove the university. In 1864 he was 
appointed treasurer, and administered the duties of the office with 
marked success until advancing age compelled him to relinquish it in 
1888. 

Prominent among the patrons of the university in this period of 
financial enlargement were the Colgates (James B., Samuel, and 
Robert) and John B. Trevor, of New York, and Col. Morgan L. Smith, 
of Newark, N. J. The first four gave liberally to endow the univer- 
sity. Colonel Smith made large annual contributions to the Educa- 
tion Society, and at his death in 1883 willed to the university a con- 
siderable fund for the maintenance of scholarships in the Theological 
Seminary. From the beginning of Dr. Dodge's presidency various 
scholarships, both for ministerial and other students, were from time 
to time added, and prizes were established in connection with various 
departments of the university which have promoted scholarship, 
stimulated literary effort, and tended to cultivate excellence in oratory. 

In 1873 the ijreparatory school, which for twenty years had been 
known as the grammar school of Madison University, entered a new 
building, erected by Mr. James B. Colgate on grounds separate from, 
but contiguous to, the university campus. Since, that date it has 
been known as Colgate Academy. The donor, in connection with Mr. 
John B. Trevor, provided a special endowment for it, and the general 



282 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

funds of the university are still further available for its maintenance 
as a first-class academy for boys. In 1875 the course of instruction 
in the theological seminary was lengthened from two to three j^ears, 
and its facult}^ of instruction was enlarged. 

The library fund, which had before been small, was increased in 
1876 to $25,000. The library, previously maintained*by occasional 
special apiiroiDriations, now received accessions from the annual in- 
come of this fund. Other sums were added that year to the endow- 
ment apj)ropriately accompanying the national centennial. After 
the erection of the academy no other buildings were added for a num- 
ber of years. As the endowment increased, the annual income was 
devoted to the more adequate compensation of the faculty, and to the 
im];)rovement of facilities for instruction. 

In 1884 the chemical laboratory was built through the joint liberal- 
ity of Col. Morgan L. Smith, Thomas Kingsford of Oswego, Samuel 
Colgate, and President Dodge. It is a handsome stone structure, 
trimmed with brick, and furnishes ample room and appliances for 
work in analytical chemistry. In 1886 the theological seminary, 
which before had shared in the use of alumni hall and of the dormi- 
tories, entered a building erected expressly for it under the auspices 
of the Education Society. This fine edifice received the name of Eaton 
Hall, and has given to the seminarj^ added vigor and independence. 
But the most splendid addition to the material equipment of the 
university, and one which was destined to mark the close of President 
Dodge's distinguished administration, was the fireproof library build- 
ing, begun in 1889 and dedicated in 1891. It is the gift of Mr. James 
B. Colgate, and was erected at a cost of 1150,000. It has large stack- 
rooms, a spacious reading hall, and rooms for the trustees, the treas- 
urer, and for the seminary method of instruction. This magnificent 
building, affording space for indefinite increase of books, will chal- 
lenge an early enlargement of the library fund. 

Recent years have witnessed a great improvement in the university 
grounds. The hill, with its fine prospect of Hamilton and vicinity, 
sloping down to the extended camx)us, combines with the lower grounds 
in offering rare opportunities for effective landscape work. The entire 
area owned by the university and the Education Society is hardly less 
than 300 acres, and the various buildings of the three departments of 
the university are happily grouped. 

At the death of President Dodge, January 5, 1890, the several 
institutions had the following instructors : 

University : Ebenezer Dodge, D. D. , LL. D. , president, and Bleecker 
professor of intellectual and moral philosophy; Philetus B. Spear, 
D. D. , professor emeritus of Hebrew and Latin; Alexander M. Beebee, 
D. D., professor of logic; Lucien M. Osborn, LL. D., professor of the 
phj^sical sciences; Newton Lloyd Andrews, Ph. D., LL. D., professor 
of the Greek language and literature, and dean of the faculty; James 





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COLGATE UNIVERSITY. 283 

iVI. Taylor, LL. D., professor of mathematics; William Hale May- 
nard, D. D., professor of political economy; Sylvester Burnham, 
D. D., professor of biblical literature; Joseph F. McGregory, A.M., 
professor of chemistry and mineralogy; Benjamin S. Terry, A.M., 
professor of civil history and English; William II. Crawshaw, A. M., 
associate professor of English; William C. Eaton, Ph.D., professor 
of engineering; Aaron 11. Cole, A. M. , lecturer in biology and geology; 
Frederick W. Colegrove, A. M., professor of the Latin language and 
literature; ^ Robert W. Moore, Ph. B. , instructor in modern languages. 

Theological Seminary: ^Ebenezer Dodge, D. D., LL. D., professor 
of Christian theology; Alexander M. Beebee, D. D., professor of 
homiletics; Hezekiah Harver, D. D., professor of New Testament 
exegesis and pastoral theology; William H. Maynard, D. D., profes- 
sor of ecclesiastical history; Sylvester Burnham, D. D., professor of 
Hebrew and Old Testament interpretation; Hinton S. Loyd, D. D., 
lecturer on methods of Christian work; ISTathaniel Schmidt, A.M., 
associate professor of Semitic languages. 

Academy: John Greene, Ph. D., principal, and instructor in history; 
Eugene P. Sisson, A. M., assistant principal, and instructor in math- 
ematics; Charles W. Sheldon, A.M., instructor in Greek and Ger- 
man; Frank A. Gallup, A. B., instructor in Latin and French; 
William F. Langworthy, A. M., instructor in natural sciences; George 
S. Mills, A. B., instructor in English and elocution. 

A new era in the history of the institution has been introduced by 
the change of name to Colgate University. This action, proposed by 
President Dodge, was voted by the board of the university and 
approved by the trustees of the Education Societj^ at the annual 
commencement session in 1889. The change went into effect by vote 
of the regents of the University of the State of New York on March 
13, 1890, and by order of the supreme court issued April 22, 1890. 
Various considerations led to this change of name. The former 
designation, " Madison," had never been chosen deliberately, but by 
the hasty action of the committee appointed to secure the charter. 
As the name of the county it seemed to suggest an aim and scope too 
circumscribed to be in harmony with the history and the purposes 
of the college. Experience has shown, also, that the name was often 
confused with the State University of Wisconsin, at Madison, and 
with Hamilton College, at Clinton, N. Y. It had long been felt by 
many that a more distinctive name would be advantageous. If the 
name of a benefactor was to be assumed, none could be so fitting as 
that of a familj^ which for three generations has exercised most gen- 
erous liberality toward the institution. As early as 1823 William 
Colgate, and his wife, Mary Colgate, became deeply interested 

'Appointed August 21, 1890. 

^Vacancy filled June 18, 1890, by appointment of William N. Clarke, D. D., as 
J. J. Joslin professor of Christian theology. 



284 HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDUCATIOlSr IN NEW YOEK. 

patrons. Beginning after their death, James B. Colgate has from 
time to time made munificent gifts in endowment funds and in build- 
ings. His brothers, Samuel Colgate and Robert Colgate, have also 
been liberal donors to its funds. In the third generation James C. 
Colgate and Richard M. Colgate were connected with the two boards 
of control. The name has been honorably associated so long with 
every religious and educational movement of the Baptist denomina- 
tion that the propriety and significance of the designation Colgate 
University was readily recognized by the alumni and by the public. 

In view of the fact that all institutions for higher education demand 
ever-increasing resources, the friends of the university review with 
gratification the growth of its endowment within the past thirty years. 
In 1864 the productive funds were $62,000; in 1865, $121,000; in 1868, 
$177,000; in 1870, $265,000; in 1874, $304,000; in 1876, $405,000; in 
1881, $480,000; in 1888, $500,000. The value of the various univer- 
sity buildings, including the president's house, of the grounds, the 
library, the museum of natural history, the chemical and physical 
apparatus, and other material equipment is not less than $340,000. 

The commencement of 1891 was signalized by the princely gift of 
$1,000,000 to the university by Mr. James B. Colgate, of New York. 
This sum is to be held in trust for the university and is to be known 
as the "Dodge memorial fund," in honor of the late President Dodge. 
The income of one-half of this fund is available for the general pur- 
poses of the university, while the income of the other half will be accu- 
mulated and added to the principal until a time, to be determined 
by the regents of the university, when the whole income will be annu- 
ally available. Other donations, from various sources, announced at 
the commencement of 1891, amounted to more than $110,000. The 
trustees and the faculty of the university believe that the future 
develoi^ment of the institution will keep pace with the demands of 
our country and of the new educational era. 

The alumni of the college have been 1,076. The theological semi- 
nary has graduated about 700. During the year 1890-91 the number 
of students in the university was 136; in the seminary, 50; in the 
preparatory school, 179. 

After the death of President Dodge, Dean Andrews served as acting 
president until the appointment, in 1896, of President George William 
Smith, LL. D. 

UNIVERSITY EXTENSION DEPARTMENT. 

In 1892 a department was organized to carry on university exten- 
sion work. The head of this department is Prof. Ralph W. Thomas. 

The university extension department will give needed assistance at 
the organization of centers in central New York, and will arrange for 
lectures by members of the college faculty on the subjects advertised 
wherever their services may be required. Each course consists 



UNIVERSITY OF BUFFALO. 285 

of ten weekly lectures. The university extension plan comprises 
lectures, the syllabus, class work, written work, guided reading, 
students' clubs, and final examination at the end of the course. 
The class work, written work, students' clubs, and final examination 
are voluntary. 

This work is connected with the university extension department 
of the University of the State of New York, and final examinations 
are conducted by the State regents. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

1. Laws, 1846, chapter 40. Charter of Madison University. 

2. Laws, 1848, chapter 165. Act authorizing change of location. 

3. Senate document 37, 1849. Memorial praying for repeal of this act. 

4. Senate document 52, 1849. Remonstrance against repeal. 

5. Assembly document 111, 1848. Report on bill relating to Madison University. 

6. Historical address by Dr. George W. Eaton. 

7. Historical and statistical record, page 238. 

8. Assembly document 309, 1840. Report of committee recommending the grant 

of a collegiate charter on the ground that the work had been of collegiate 
grade since 1834, when the course of study was extended to eight years, 
and included an academic, a collegiate, and a theological department, and 
that the collegiate department was in reality a college, although it had no 
power to confer degrees. This attempt at incorporation was not carried 
into effect until 1846. 

9. Endowment circular, 1851. 

10. Historical sketch, 1852. 

11. Laws, 1853, chapter 64. 

12. Charter of Madison University, 1865. 

13. ' ' The First Half Century of Madison University," 1819-1869, or the jubilee vol- 

ume, containing sketches of 1,100 living and deceased alumni, with 15 
portraits of founders, presidents, and patrons; also the exercises of the 
semicentennial anniversary, President Eaton's historical address, lists of 
collegiate and theological graduates, the financial history, sketches of 
officers and teachei's, a general catalogue of students, both graduates and 
nongraduates, and other historical matter, 1872, pp. 503. 

14. Charter and statutes. 1888. 



UNIVERSITY OF BUFFALO. 1846. 

This institution was chartered with full collegiate powers May 11, 
1846. Its general philosophical work was never organized, however, 
and it is composed only of the following special schools : 

University of BuflEalo, James O. Putnam, chancellor; Buffalo law 
school; medical department; college of pharmacy; college of dentistry ; 
school of pedagogy. 



ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE. 1846. FORDHAM. 

This college, located at Fordham, is under the management of the 
Jesuit fathers. Two kinds of instruction are offered, classical and 



286 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUOATIOlsr IN NEW YORK. 

commercial. The commercial course extends over five years. In it 
the study of Latin and Greek is not required. The classical course 
is that of the ordinary college. 

The Rev. Thomas J. Gannon, S. J., occupies the president's chair. 
Instruction is given by a corps of 33 teachers. The number of stu- 
dents is given in the One hundred and seventh Regent's Report as 83. 

By laws of 1862, chapter 453, the lands in actual occupation by the 
college, with the buildings thereon, are made exempt from taxation 
by town and county authorities for support of schools. 

Its charter of incorporation by the legislature will be found in 
chapter 61, laws of 1846. 

The net value of the college property amounts to $341,933. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

i. Laws 1846, chapter 61. 

2. Laws 1862, chapter 453. 

3. Taafe, T. G. History of St. John's College, Fordham. 1891. 



THE UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER. 1846.' 

When in 1846 a collegiate charter was granted to the Hamilton 
Literary and Theological Institution, incorporating it as Madison 
University, a controversy arose out of a proposal to transfer the 
university from the village of Hamilton to Rochester. A charter was 
obtained from the legislature May 8 of that year. After a long 
struggle involving a legal contest several of the professors and a large 
number of students left Madison to establish a new universitj^ in 
Rochester. Among the former were Prof. A. C. Kendrick, D. D., 
Prof. John A. Richardson, A. M., and Prof. John H. Raymond, A. M. 

CHARTER AND ORGANIZATION. 

A provisional charter was granted bj^ the regents January 31, 1850, 
which sanctioned the establishment of the University of Rochester, 
provided that $130,000. be subscribed for this purpose in two years, 
of which sum $30,000 was to be vested in site and buildings and 
$100,000 in permanent endowment. 

The regents, February 14, 1851, issued the charter under which the 
university is at present organized, which still, however, contained the 
proviso that within five years the regents must be satisfied that at 
least $100,000 had been permanently invested in State or national 
bonds or in mortgages on unencumbered real estate worth double the 
amount of the mortgage, in order that the charter might become 
perpetual. 

^This sketch is mainly an abridgment of Professor Gilmore's Outline History 
of the University of Rochester, 1886. 



UNIVEESITY OF EOCHESTEE. 287 

Tlie charter thus granted, which is in all respects similar to the old 
charter of Columbia College, in the city of New York, simply invests 
the corjjoration of the university "with all the privileges and powers 
conceded to any college in this State, pursuant to the provisions of 
the sixth section of the statute entitled ' An act relative to the uni- 
versity,' i^assed April 5, 1813." 

The charter did not vest the control of the university in any reli- 
gious denomination. It simply created a self-perpetuating board of 
trustees — 24 in number — who hold office for life, but who may be 
removed, by vote of their associates, for nonattendance at three suc- 
cessive annual meetings. Twenty of the trustees named in the char- 
ter were Baptists, and the Ba]3tists have thus maintained an effective 
control over the university, though different religious denominations 
have always been represented in its board of trustees and its faculty 
of instruction, and many of its students are from other than Baptist 
families. 

To the minds of those who founded the University of Rochester, a 
denominational college is established not to inculcate the distinctive 
tenets of their denomination, but to give an opportunity for the higher 
education of children under influences which shall not be hostile to 
the faith of their fathers. 

The university has no connection with either the State or the Gen- 
eral Grovernment. In 1857 the State of New York granted the uni- 
versity $25,000 toward the erection of a permanent building for library, 
chapel, and recitation rooms, upon condition that the friends of the 
university raise a like sum for its benefit. This condition was met 
by Gen. John F. Rathbone, of Albany, who gave 125,000 to constitute 
a library fund for the institution. With this exception the university 
has received no aid either from the State or the nation. 

It has no organic connection with the public-school system of the 
city of Rochester, and yet it is practically the capstone of that system 
and its influence is felt to the lowest grade of the primary schools of 
the city in which it is established. Three scholarships, yielding free 
tuition in the university, are awarded in each class to students fltted 
for college in the public schools of the city, and thus, through the 
existence in Rochester of this university, an intelligent and industri- 
ous young man can secure, free of cost, a college education. 

Immediately after the granting of the provisional charter those 
trustees of the new university who were still trustees of Madison 
resigned their positions on the latter board, but gradually, so that 
that board, by flUing the places of the resigning members with friends 
of Hamilton, might not be left without a quorum. 

The trustees of the new university met informally at Rochester, 
May 13, 1850, appointed a committee of seven to mature a plan of 
instruction, and transacted other business, to which reference will be 
elsewhere made. The first duly called and notified meeting of the 



288 HISTORY OF HIGHEJR EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

trustees of the University of Rochester was held in the committee 
room of the First Baptist Church September 16, 1850. The trustees 
organized, under the provisional charter granted bj^ the regents. 
They also created an executive committee, consisting of nine mem- 
bers of their own body, three of whom were to be elected annually, 
who were not only to carry into effect the action of the board, but 
invested with ' ' power to create and enforce ever}^ regulation required 
for the immediate good of the university; to call meetings of the cor- 
poration, and, in general, to take such measures as may to them seem 
expedient for the well-being of the institution, provided always, that 
their acts shall be in force until the next meeting of the corporation, 
and no longer, unless they be sanctioned by that authority." 

The trustees further voted at this meeting that the new institu- 
tion should go into active operation on the first Monday in November, 
1850, and authorized the executive board to lease and fit up, for the 
temporary use of the university, a building on Buffalo (now West 
JMain) street, formerlj^ known as the United States Hotel. 

Suitable rooms for chapel exercises, recitations, etc., were fitted up 
in the building designated. The undergraduates of Madison flocked 
to the temporary quarters which the building afforded them, and on 
the day prescribed the university was an accomplished fact. Its first 
catalogue reported 8 instructors and 71 students. In July, 1851, it 
graduated a class of ten. 

It may seem strange at the present day that such a termination 
of the long controversy between Rochester and Hamilton could not 
have been sooner and more amicably attained, but it must be borne 
in mind that no one thought at that earlj^ time that the Baptists of 
New York would ever need or could possibly sustain two colleges. 
The removal of Madison University was deemed by those who advo- 
cated it absolutely essential to the establishment of a Baptist college 
in a suitable locality, with a competent endowment and under such 
auspices as should command the patronage of the general public. 
Time has shown that they were mistaken in this. Time has also shown 
that the establishment of the University of Rochester, by rallying the 
friends of Hamilton to the support of " Madison," was worth to that 
institution a great many thousand dollars. 

It was no easy matter to establish a new university at Rochester. 
Even to obtain a charter for such an institution was difficult; how 
much more to raise the $130,000 which the provisional charter required 
within two years. The Baptists of Rochester set themselves about 
this task with characteristic energj^ A few friends met in the com- 
mittee room of the First Baptist Church, December 31, 1849, and began 
the work by subscribing, on the spot, 112,000. The subscription was 
pushed by John N. Wilder, of Albany; Deacon Oren Sage and Deacon 
Alvah Strong, of Rochester (neither of whom ever asked or received 
^ penny for their services), till it reached $80,000. James Edmunds, 



UNIVEESITY OF EOCHESTER. 289 

Isaac Westcott, Zenas Freeman, and Elon Galusha carried forward 
the work which had been thus auspiciously begun. The Baptists of 
New York were incited to renewed effort by the stirring appeals and 
the cheering announcements made in the Annunciator, a little paper 
published occasionally in the interests of Rochester. The result was 
that in less than a j^ear after the first subscription was made the con- 
ditions of the regents were substantially complied with. 

The progress of the new institution was so sudden and so wonder- 
ful that Ralph Waldo Emerson, according to Mr. Wilder, used it as 
an illustration of Yankee enterprise, sajang that a landlord in Roch- 
ester had an old hotel which he thought would rent for more as a 
university, so he put in a few books, sent for a coach load of profes- 
sors, bought some philosophical apparatus, and by the time green 
peas were ripe had graduated a large class of students. Mr. Emer- 
son was certainly familiar with the marvelous growth of our univer- 
sity. " I watched over it in its cradle," he once remarked to the 
writer; "I am very certain that I shall never follow it to its grave." 

IMPORTANT EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY. 

September 27, 1850, the Hon. Ira Harris, of Albany, was elected 
chancellor of the university by the executive board, in which capacity 
he presided on commencement day until the election of a president. 

1853. 

April 6. At a special' meeting of the trustees the j)residency was 
tendered to Martin B. Anderson, of New York, at a salary of $1,800 a 
year. 

July 9. At the annual meeting of the trustees a letter of accept- 
ance was read from President Anderson, who entered upon his duties 
at the beginning of the fall term. 

It was voted, 14 to 4, to accept the gift of 8 acres of laud, valued at 
110,000, which was tendered to the university as a j)ermanent site by 
the Hon. Azariah Boody. The land thus secured was that on which 
Anderson and Sibley halls now stand.. 

Seventeen acres, in addition to Mr. Boody's gift, was subsequently 
purchased, with the idea of laying it out in house lots, by the sale of 
which the endowment of the university might be promoted. This 
idea was abandoned after lots enough had been sold to seriously mar 
the beauty of the campus. 

1857. 

March 7. The legislature of the State of New York voted 125,000 

toward the erection of a new building for the university; provided 

that an equal sum should be added to the funds of the university from 

other sources. The condition was promptly met by Gen. John F. 

3176 19 



290 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCAIION IN NEW YORK. 

Rathbone, of Albany, who gave the university $25,000 to constitute a 
library fund, 

1861. 

January 10. The charter of the university was made perpetual by 
the regents — its i)rovisions having been satisfactorily met. 

1865. 

September 18. Professor Cutting reported that the sum of 1100,000 
had been added to the endowment of the university. 

1866. 

The president's salary was raised to $3,000, and some addition was 
made to the salary of the other members of the faculty. 

1869. 

The universit}'^ received from Macmillan & Co., of London, a very 
complete set of their valuable publications — being one of the three 
American colleges thus honored. 

1870. 

Tracy H. Harris, of New York, completed the endowment of the 
professorship of mathematics, for which he had subscribed $30,000. 

An alumni association was formed in New York City. Manton Mar- 
ble, esq. , of the New York World, was its first president, 

1874. 

Early in the year, Professor Lattimore, delivered a course of free 
lectures to the workingmen of Rochester, which excited such interest, 
and was productive of such good results, as to become a permanent 
feature of Rochester life — giving rise to the "Lattimore Free Lecture 
Course." 

1880. 

Through the untiring efforts of President Anderson, $256,800 was 
added to the permanent endowment of the university. 

In addition to the gifts above mentioned, Anderson Hall was thor- 
oughly renovated and completely refurnished by Mrs. Bertha A. Deane, 
of New York, at an expense of $3,150, and to the boundless gratitude 
of those most interested. 

1882.' 

Decided changes were made in the curriculum, which may be typi- 
fied by the facts that one term more of German and one term less of 



UNIVERSITY OF KOCHESTER. 291 

Greek jire, from this drite, i-equired of the students; that the calculus 
is made ox)tional with Freucli, etc., etc. 

1888. 

President Anderson resigned. He was succeeded by David J. Hill, 
LL. D. 

AIMS AND METHODS OF INSTRUCTION. 

One of the published reports of the university states that — 

The purpose of the institution is to prepare men, by sound elementary instruc- 
tion and thorough discipline, for those professional or technical studies which 
they intend to pursue at a later period in their student life, and which they can 
not pursue to advantage without a certain degree of general culture. Hence the 
students are trained and taught with predominant reference to their wants as 
men, not as ministers, lawyers, or doctors in embryo. Attention is, however, 
given to the development, or repressal, as the case maj'- demand, of individual 
tastes and tendencies; and some degree of choice is permitted in the studies of the 
junior and senior years, with reference to the calling which the student has in 
mind. 

That this has been, from the outset, the design of the institution, is 
seen from a very able report made to the board of trustees, September 
16, 1850, b}^ a committee, appointed bj" that body, consisting of Robert 
Kelly, esq.. Rev. William R. Williams, D. D., Hon. F. Whittlesey, 
and Professors Dewey, Conant, Kendrick, and Raymond. 

In this report the current objections to a collegiate education, as 
previously conducted, are dispassionately discussed, and the proposed 
remedies for alleged evils (such remedies as dispensing with the study 
of the classics and the higher mathematics, to make room for the phy- 
sical sciences and the modern languages, making the studies of a large 
part of the course entirely optional with the students, etc.), are 
intelligently considered. 

It will be seen from this report that, so early as 1850, the univer- 
sity of Rochester entered upon four experiments, which some of the 
older colleges tried at a later day, or are trying still — namely : 

1. So arranging the course of instruction that the student who 
takes neither Latin nor Greek can graduate with the same honor as if 
he had studied these languages. 

2. Terminating the compulsorj^ study of Latin and Greek with the 
sophomore year. 

3. Requiring none of the higher mathematics of the classical stu- 
dent. 

4. Making the studies of the classical course to a considerable 
degree optional after the second year. 

The changes were mainly due to the influence of President Ander- 
son, whose inaugural address on " The end and means of a liberal 
education" sufficiently explains and vindicates them. 



292 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATIOlsr IN ISTEW YORK. 

The curriculum is adjusted to the average student's worMng capacity. All stu- 
dents of more than average ability are encouraged to pursue additional courses of 
study, not simply for honors and prizes, but in order to give them the opportunity 
to pursue under proper direction the special studies for wh'ch they have the" 
greatest aptitude. . . . The habit of looking at every branch of instruction 
from the historical standpoint, of studying, in its renesis and growth, every sub- 
ject, not only politics and law, but language, political economy, philosophy, phys- 
ical science, and even mathematics, has always characterized the work of this 
college. ' ' That man stands firmly who sees the progress of thought through the 
ages," is a principle which the president [Anderson] has not only enunciated, but 
has aimed to enforce.' 

The university does not engage in professional instruction. Besides 
the regular courses leading to a degree, there are ' ' seminary courses 
entirely voluntarj^, and intended only for advanced students who are 
willing to do extra work under instruction, and consisting in weekly 
assigned exercises conducted in the manner of a German seminar." ^ 
There are also "honor studies without recitation-room work of any 
kind, but involving private reading and examination or a thesis, or 
both, at the discretion of the professor."^ These courses, together 
with the establishment of a few graduate scholarships, show that this 
institution is attempting some steps forward in the direction of a true 
university. 

REQUIREMENTS FOR BACHELORS' DEGREES, 

[Catalogue, 1894-95.] 

Four courses of study, each extending through four years and lead- 
ing to a degree, are open to the students of the university: 

I. The classical course, in which both Greek and Latin are required 
for admission and are continaed in the course, leading to the degree 
of bachelor of arts. 

II. The Latin-scientific course, in which Latin and one modern 
language are required for admission and continued in the course, 
leading to the degree of bachelor of philosoph3^ 

III. The Greek-scientific course, in which Greek and one modern 
language are required for admission and continued in the course, 
leading to the degree of bachelor of jDhilosophy. 

IV. The scientific course, in which two modern languages are 
required for admission and continued in the course, leading to the 
degree of bachelor of science. 

ECLECTIC STUDENTS. 

Eclectic students who may desire to receive instruction in particular 
departments, without becoming candidates for a degree, are admitted, 
providing they have the requisite preparation for the studies of those 

1 Public Service, etc. , III, 321. ^ Annual Catalogue, 1890-91. 



UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER. 293 

departments and become subject to tlie laws of the university. This 
arrangement is intended to meet the wants of those whose circum- 
stances may prevent them from pursuing any of the regular courses, 
but who are desirous of obtaining that liberal culture which the 
studies of a portion of the course will give them. Special care is 
taken to give such pupils the instruction which they require, and they 
will, on severing their connection with the university, be given cer- 
tificates covering all work that has been completed and tested by 
examination. 

PREPARATION FOR PROFESSIONAL STUDY. 

The order of studies and the wide range of electives furnish an 
excellent opportunity to secure that special fitness for the beginning 
of strictly professional studies which has been so much desired. In 
addition to the general studies, the student contemplating medicine 
can devote two years to those chemical and biological studies which 
are so important as an introduction to the medical profession. In like 
manner, the student looking forward to the profession of law may 
supplement his required courses in history with full instruction in 
Roman law, constitutional law, and international law. So also, the 
theological student may choose additional courses in the Greek lan- 
guage and philosophy; while one looking forward to journalism may 
secure a special preparation in literature, history, and constitutional 
and international law. The value of this arrangement is apparent to 
those who are aware that the strongest argument so far advanced for 
the shortening of the collegiate course is the fact that so much time 
is usually expended upon studies that have little bearing upon subse- 
quent professional work. 

UNIVERSITY EXTENSION DEPARTMENT. 

The university extension department of the University of Roches- 
ter has been organized to bring systematic university instruction 
within the reach of all classes of men and women throughout west- 
ern New York without interfering with their daily work. It is well 
known that a vast majority of the children are forced to leave school 
early to become breadwinners, and to them the doors of higher edu- 
cation have in the past been practically closed. While it is obviously 
impossible to give a regular university training without attendance 
at the uuiversity, yet it is entirelj^ possible by the extension method to 
give a broader outlook over the world of literature, science, and art. 
In England, where the movement originated twenty-one years ago, 
it has won increasing respect from scholars, and has been cordially 
indorsed by such a distinguished authority as Professor Jebb. A 
convincing proof that extension courses stimulate genuine habits of 



294 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

study and research, and thus give assurance of permanent benefit, is 
found in the report of the Reynolds Library of this city for 1894. The 
report says : "The most important class of organized readers has been 
made up of those persons connected with the uiiiversity extension 
courses. These persons, under the inspiration and direction of their 
lecturers, have developed a large degree of interest and intelligence in 
the use of books." 

The extension method is adapted to the needs of persons engaged 
in ordinary pursuits, and is intended to stimulate as many as possible 
to become earnest students. The important details of the work are : 
(1) A systematic course of ten evening lectures (usually weekly) on 
a single subject, handling it with the utmost thoroughness; (2) a 
printed sj^llabus is furnished containing an analysis of the entire 
course and a useful bibliography; (3) a free discussion between lec- 
turer and audience in connection with each lecture adds greatly to 
the interest and value of the course ; (4) a list of topics is named in 
the syllabus for short papers of a page or more by those willing to 
write them. All work is of course voluntary; (5) an examination 
under the auspices of the regents is held at the close of each course 
for those who wish to take it, and regents' certificates are given those 
who pass; (6) persons thoroughly interested find it very helpful to 
form a students' club, to meet between the lectures or after the course 
closes, and continue the studj^, with the advice of the lecturer; (7) 
when an extension course is given in a small town where there is 
no adequate library, a traveling library of 50 to 100 of the best books 
on the subject is supplied by the State library at nominal expense. 

Full courses of ten lectures each can be furnished on each of the 
following subjects: 

In science: Biology and evolution, by Charles Wright Dodge, M. S., 
professor of biology; chemistry in nature and the arts, by Samuel A. 
Lattimore, Ph. D., LL. D., professor of chemistry; physical geology, 
historical geology, economic geology, comparative physiology, zoology, 
by Herman L. Fairchild, B. S., professor of geology and natural his- 
tory; money, banking and the silver question, pedagogy, science and 
art of education, practical logic and popular fallacies, philosophy and 
evolution, by George M. Forbes, A. M., professor of philosophy and 
pedagogy; astronomy, electricity, light, heat, and sound, sanitary 
science, by Charles Forbes, B. S., M. D., extension lecturer on science; 
electrical engineering, forces of nature as related to modern life, by 
Albert L. Arey, C. E., extension lecturer on science; improved agri- 
culture, by P. C. Reynolds, extension lecturer on agriculture ; labor 
and capital, trusts, strikes, wages, physiology, by Harrison E. Web- 
ster, LL. D., extension lecturer; mathematics, by Arthur Latham 
Baker, Ph. D., professor of mathematics. 

In history: Ancient Roman life, by Henry F. Burton, A. M., pro- 
fessor of Latin; American Revolution, American Constitution, devel- 



UNIVEESITY OF ROCHESTER. 295 

opiuent of the nation, 1789-18G1, the civil war and its financial and 
foreign relations, by William H. Mace, M. L., M. A., extension lec- 
tnrer on history; civil and I'eligious liberty in America, European 
statesmen of the nineteenth century, by Regent Charles E. Fitch, 
LL. B., M. A.; studies in Greek life pf the heroic age, Greek life in 
the age of Pericles, Greece and the age of Pericles, life in old Flor- 
ence, by Mrs. William A. Montgomery, B. A., extension lecturer on 
history. 

In literature : American literature, American poetry, English lan- 
guage, English literature, poetry of the Bible, recent English poetry, 
Shakespeare, by Joseph H. Gilmore, Ph. D., professor of rhetoric and 
English; French literature, by A. H. Mixer, A. M., professor of modern 
languages; Scottish writers, by William P. McKenzie, B. A., instructor 
in English and rhetoric. 

Courses by competent instructors from other places can also be sup- 
plied on the following subjects: Chemistry of cooking, botany, hered- 
ity, science of education, discovery of America, American archaeology, 
Spain, Mexico, making of France, mediaeval France, Italian art, Greek 
philosophy, art, philosophy and literature of the renaissance, political 
methods, economic legislation, evolution of laws affecting women, 
ballads and songs of various countries illustrated by singing, Roman 
history, Roman biography, Roman antiquities. 

Language classes: Kendrick P. Shedd, A. B., instructor in modern 
languages, will give thorougli evening courses in French and German 
to extension classes. 

All inquiries regarding university extension should be addressed to 
the secretary, J. Eugene Whitney, 7 Brackett House Building, Roch- 
ester, ]Sr. Y. 

PROPERTY. 

"With the exception of 125,000 received from the legislature of 
New York in 1857, the funds of Rochester University have been raised 
entirely by its friends and alumni." ^ Among its greatest benefactors 
have been Hiram Sibley, John B. Trevor, and John H. Deane. As 
given in the One hundred and seventh Regent's Report, the total 
property of the university was valued at $1,191,319, and its total income 
for that year (1888-89) amounted to $41,371.05. 

Its library building, the gift of Mr. Sibley, is valued at $100,000, 
and contains about 26,000 volumes. There is about an equal number 
of books in the theological library, accessible to university students. 

It was the firm opinion of President Anderson that the university 
should have no dormitories, and this wise policy has been followed, 
thereby preventing that sequestration of the students from society 
and actual life which is the bane of many of our colleges. 

1 Public Service, etc., Ill, 330. 



296 



HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 



STUDENTS. 

An interesting tabular statement in regard to the numbers of stu- 
ents and the courses attended is given below : 



I.-18.50-1886. 



Academic year. 


'6 


o 

'3 


o 
"3 

1-5 


9} 
<S 

o 

a 

o 

1 




'3 


1 

i 

5 


o 

2 
'3 


V 


1850 5J... - - 


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1854-55.- - 

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UNIVERSITY OF EOCHESTER. 297 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

[Furnished by H. K. Phinney, assistant librarian.] 

1. Laws of New York, eightieth session, 1857, chapter 125, •' An act for the relief 

of the University of Rochester, "passed March 19, 1857. 

Note.— The charter was granted by the regents. The only legislation that I know of 
was an act [referred to above] appropriating $35,000 to the university in case its friends 
raised a similar amount. To secure this appropriation General Rathbone gave us our 
library fund, and the State appropriation aided in the erection of Anderson Hall. This 
is all the State aid we ever received.— J. H. Gilmore. 

2. Annual reports of the university appear in the published annual reports of the. 

regents of the University of the State of New York, beginning with that 
made to the legislature of 1852. 

3. [J. H. Grilmore.] An Outline History of the University of Rochester. Roch- 

ester, N. Y., 1886. 8°. 70 pp. 

4. M. B. Anderson. The Work and Aims of the University of Rochester. An 

address delivered on commencement day, June 28, 1876. Rochester, N. Y. , 
1876. 8°. 20 pp. 

5. J. H. G[ilmore]. The University of Rochester. (In History of Monroe County, 

N. Y.. pp. 103 ff., Philadelphia, 1877.) 

J. H. Gilmore. The University. (In Semi- Centennial History of the City of 
Rochester, by William F. Peck-, pp. 531 ff., Syracuse, N. Y,,, 1884.) 

J. H. Gilmore. Rochester, University of. (In the Baptist Cyclopaedia, a Diction- 
ary of . . . the Baptist Denomination in all Lands, edited by William 
Cathcart, D. D., pp. 1001 ff., Philadelphia, 1881.) 

6. Martin B. Anderson, LL. D., L. H. D., first president. 

W. C. Morey. Anderson, Martin B. (In the Baptist Cyclopaedia, . . . 
edited by William Cathcart, pp. 33 ff . ) 

Rev. F. L. Anderson. Memorial sermon on Dr. and Mrs. M. B. Anderson, 
delivered Sunday morning, March 9, 1890, at the Second Baptist Church 
by the pastor. Privately printed. [Rochester, 1890.] 12°. 12 pp. 

The Campiis. Memorial number. Vol. 16, No. 9. Rochester, 1890. sm. 4°. 
28 pp. 

Proceedings of the Alumni of the University of Rochester, June 18, 1890; also 
Anderson Memorial Meeting. Rochester, 1891. 8°. 49 pp. 
John H. Raymond, LL. D., professor. 

[Harriet R. Lloyd.J Life and Letters of J. H. Raymond. Edited by his 
eldest daughter. New York, 1881. 8". 744 pp. 
Chester Dewey, D. D. , LL. D. , professor. 

M. B. Anderson. Sketch of the Life of Prof. Chester Dewey, D. D., LL. D. 
(In Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institu- 
tion . . . for the Year 1870, pp. 231 ff., Washington, 1872.) 

7. [Robert Kelly and others.] Report to the board of trustees of the University 

of Rochester on the plan of instruction to be pursued in the collegiate 
department. Presented September 16, 1850. Rochester, 1850. 8". 50 pp. 

M. B. Anderson. The End and Means of a Liberal Education. An inaugu- 
ral address delivered July 11, 1854. Rochester, 1855. 8°. 95 pp. 

The Charter of the University of Rochester and other Documents Explanatory 
of the Organization of the University. Rochester, 1880. 8°. 13 pp. 

D. J. Hill. The American College in Relation to Liberal Education. The 
inaugural address of President David J. Hill, LL. D., June 19, 1889. 
[Rochester, 1889.] 2d edition. 12°. 30 pp. 

Robinson, O. H. Rochester University Library. Library Journal 2 : 57. 



298 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

THE COLLEGE OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK, 1854. 

[Furnished by the college.] 

THE FREE ACADEMY. 

In the year 1846 the board of education of the city of New York 
submitted to the legislature a petition asking for the establishment of 
an institution which was to give its pupils all the essentials of a col- 
legiate education free of cost. Accordingly, on May 7, 1847, the leg- 
'islature passed an act authorizing the board of education to establish 
a ' ' free academy, " provided a majority of the citizens favored it. The 
question was submitted to the people in the following June, and out 
of a total of 22,813 votes 19,404 were in favor of the proposed acad- 
emy. In view of this large majority the board at once proceeded to 
carry out the provisions of the law. The site selected for the new 
academy was the southeast corner of Lexington avenue and Twenty- 
third street, and contained 15 city lots. It was next decided to estab- 
lish the following departments of instruction: Moral, intellectual, and 
political philosophy, the professor to be at the same time principal; 
mathematics, history, and belles-lettres; Latin and Greek languages 
and literature ; French language and literature ; Spanish language and 
literature; German language and literature; English language and 
literature; drawing and the fine arts; natural philosophy; chemistry 
and physics; natural history, anatomy, physiology, and hygiene, and 
civil engineering. 

DR. HORACE WEBSTER, PRINCIPAL, 1848. 

In the summer of 1848 Dr. Horace Webster, educated at West 
Point, and at the time professor of natural philosophy at Hobart Col- 
lege, was elected principal. Soon after Edward C. Ross was appointed 
professor of mathematics and natural philosophy ; Theodore Irving, 
professor of history; John J. Owen, professor of Latin and Greek; 
Oliver W. Gibbs, professor of chemistry; Paul P. Duggan, professor 
of drawing, and Jean Roemer, professor of French. The faculty was 
not completed, however, until 1851. On the 15th of January, 1849, 
the work of instruction was begun, with a class of 143 pupils. From 
that day to June, 1895, about 22,000 applicants have been admitted. 
As the examination covers only the subjects taught in the public 
schools, the admission has been to a preparatory class. Of the 22,000 
admitted, about 8,500 have entered the freshman class, and of these 
about 1,700 have been graduated. The alumni are represented in 
every branch of public and private life, and include among their num- 
ber many successful principals and teachers in the public schools, 
clergymen, physicians, lawyers, some of whom are judges, authors, 
journalists, architects, and engineers, as well as a large number of 
prosperous manufacturers and merchants, while not a few are instruct- 
ors or professors in this and other colleges. 



COLLEGE OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK. 299 

111 1854 the legislature granted the "academy" collegiate powers 
and privileges, thus enabling it to confer on its graduates the usual 
degrees in the arts and sciences. It was not, however, until 1860 that, 
on recommendation of the board of education, the name of "Free 
Academy" was changed to that of "The College of the City of New 
York." At the same time the board of education was made, ex officio, 
the board of trustees of the college. In 1869 President Webster was 
succeeded by Gen. Alexander S. Webb. Until 1872 the faculty had 
not been represented in the board of trustees ; in that year, however, 
the president of the college, by act of legislature, was made a member, 
not only of the board of trustrees, but also of the executive committee, 
for the care, government, and management of the college. 

From the beginning it was the intention of the founders to give 
more prominence than was then given in other institutions of a simi- 
lar character to the modern languages, to drawing, to the sciences, 
and especially to English. Two courses were established, the scien- 
tific and the classical. To these courses a third, the mechanical, has 
since been added. These courses are alike collegiate in character, 
and aim at general development of the powers of the mind rather than 
special preparation for a particular pursuit in life. With the excep- 
tion of the choice of course at the beginning, but few electives are 
offered to the students, and these only in the junior and senior classes. 

The length of the session in each of the three courses is thirty-eight 
weeks, of which four are devoted to examinations. The number of 
recitations or lectures which the students are required to attend differs 
according to the course ; the number in the scientific and classical is 
twentj^, in the mechanical twenty-three, per week. 

In the classical course 10 per cent of all the time is devoted to Eng- 
lish, 17 to Latin, 12 to Greek, 13 to mathematics, 10 to drawing, and 
the remainder to chemistry, natural history, philosophy, historj^ and 
a modern language. The scientific course is the same as the classical 
in English, chemistrj'-, natural history, philosophy, and history, but 
devotes more time to mathematics and drawing, and instead of Latin 
and Greek takes French and German or Spanish ; while in the senior 
class it offers an option between Latin and Spanish or German. In 
the mechanical course the students are taught mechanical theory and 
the use of tools, besides most of the subjects embraced in the scientific 
course. In addition to the work above indicated, the department of 
English requires one composition or essay a month from each student 
in the subf reshman, freshman, sophomore, and junior classes. Besides 
this the juriiors and seniors write two orations, which they deliver 
from the chapel stage, while the sophomores declaim short selections 
in prose or verse, these orations and declamations forming part of the 
regular chaDcl exercises. 



300 HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDUCATIOlsr IN NEW YORK. 

DEVELOPMENT. 

These courses are not those originally established. Great advances 
have been made in all departments, not only in the matter taught, 
but also in the methods of instruction. Old chairs have been com- 
bined or abolished, while new ones have been established. Thus, the 
chairs in civil engineering and natural philosophy have been super- 
seded by a professorship in applied mathematics, the presidency has 
been separated from the professorship in philosophy, and separate 
chairs in Latin and Greek have been established. The professorship 
in Spanish has been entirely abolished, and instruction in that lan- 
guage is given by a special instructor. The steady growth in the 
equipment of the various departments, giving to the students every 
facility for pursuing their studies, has been an important factor in the 
general progress. This is especially true of the departments of chem- 
istry and physics, and natural history — the former has thoroughly and 
well furnished laboratories, besides a cabinet of about 2,300 pieces of 
physical apparatus, while a museum of more than 10,000 specimens, 
nearly all donated by friends of the college, provides the latter with a 
great part of the material needed for illustration and study. The 
department of drawing makes use of a fine collection of casts, manj^ 
of them presented by Mr. Charles M. Leupp, and a large number of 
photographs, the gift of the class of 1875, illustrating the architecture 
and sculpture of the Greeks and Romans and early Christian and 
renaissance painting in Italy. The departments of Latin, Greek, and 
history also are supplied with a large number of maps, charts, and 
illustrations. The latest addition to tlie college is the workshop used 
by the students of the mechanical course. It is well provided with 
lathes and forges and all the necessary tools. 

The college library has grown steadily' in usefulness. Additions 
have been made to it in the course of time, including the standard 
works in all branches of learning, and it now contains about 30,000 
volumes, besides literary and scientific periodicals. It is open daily 
for the consultation and issue of books. Teachers of the common 
schools of the city, as well as the instructors and students of the col- 
lege, have access to it. The books have been purchased with the 
money apportioned to the college, while known as the Free Academy, 
as its share of the literature fund of the State, from the income of 
$5,000 bequeathed by Mr. Ephraim Holbrook, from the income of 
130,000 bequeathed by Mr. Seth M. Grosvenor, and with money which 
has at times been appropriated by the board of trustees. Many books 
have been presented by members of the faculty, graduates, and other 
friends of the college. 

The college has from the beginning employed the marking system 
to record the scholarship of its students, and the usual commence- 
ment honors are also awarded on the basis of marks. A number of 
prizes and medals are awarded annually to incite the students to their 



COLLEGE OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK. 301 

best efforts. They have been founded at various times by persons 
interested in the work of the college. The gentlemen who have estab- 
lished these prizes are Duncan C. Pell, Charles T. Cromwell, Augus- 
tus H. Ward, Elisha Riggs, John Clafiin, James Kelly, F. W. Devoe, 
Alexander P. Ketchum, and James Gordon Bennett. The college is 
also indebted for gifts to the Smithsonian Institution and to the fol- 
lowing gentlemen: E. "G. Blackford, W. 11. Chesebrough, Edward 
Cooper, Bashford Dean, Prof. R. O. Doremus, David Dudley Field, 
Townsend Harris, Nathaniel Jarvis, jr.. Dr. Isaac Lea, of Philadel- 
phia, Lieut. Col. Walter McFarlane, IT. S. A., H. J. Muller, H. R. 
Remsen, William T. Rodenbach, Jackson Steward, Gen. Alexander 
S. Webb, William Wood, Prof. Solomon Woolf, and Louis Zerega. 

As the college has advanced in every other direction, so it has also 
grown in popular favor, a fact clearly demonstrated by the largely 
increased attendance. In 1869, when Dr. Webster resigned the presi- 
dency, and Gen. Alexander S. Webb, like Dr. Webster, a graduate of 
West Point, was chosen as his successor, the number of students 
enrolled in the five classes was 786, while the number of instructors 
was 29. In the year 1895 these numbers were almost doubled, there 
being 1,351 students and 53 instructors, besides the president. The 
number of graduates has increased in the same ratio, the average 
number of graduates for the last few years having been somewhat 
over 60, while the class of 1896 will probably graduate more than 80. 
The number of students has become so large that increased accommo- 
dations have become an absolute necessity. The legislature recog- 
nized this fact by passing this year (1895) a bill providing for the 
acquisition of a new site and for the erection thereon of suitable 
buildings. The site has already been selected. It includes the plot 
of land from One hundred and thirty-eighth street to One hundred 
and fortieth street, and from Convent avenue to Amsterdam avenue, 
containing in all 56 city lots. The college will probably celebrate its 
fiftieth anniversary in its new home. 

With the exception of the few funds above mentioned the college is 
supported by the city. The sum annually required for this purpose 
in 1869 and for several years before was $115,000. At present, because 
of the large increase of students and instructors, $150,000 are allowed 
annually. 

The faculty, consisting of the president and twelve professors, have 
the general direction and superintendence of everything pertaining 
to instruction in the several departments. They are assisted in the 
work of instruction by a corps of instructors and tutors. The mem- 
bers of the faculty at present are: Alexander S. Webb, LL. D., presi- 
dent; Robert Ogden Doremus, M. D.,LL. D., vice-president and pro- 
fessor of chemistry and physics; Adolph Werner, Ph. D., professor 
of German; Alfred G. Compton, A. M., professor of applied mathe- 
matics; Charles G. Herbermann, Ph.D., LL. D., professor of Latin; 



302 HISTOEY OF HIGHER BDUCATIOlSr IN NEW YORK. 

Solomon Woolf, A. M., professor of drawing; Fitz Gerald Tisdall, 
Ph. D., professor of Greek; James W. Mason, A. M., professor of pure 
mathematliics; Henry Phelps Johnston, A. M., professor of history; 
William Stratford, M. D., Ph. D., professor of natural history; Casi- 
mir Fabregon, A. M., professor of French; George E. Hardy, A. M., 
professor of English; , professor of moral and intellect- 
ual philosophy. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Acts of the Legislature. 

1. Laws of 1847, chapter 206. An act authorizing the board of education of the 

city and county of New York to establish a free academy in said city. 

2. Laws of 1866, chapter 264. • An act to erect the free academy of the ciiy of New 

Yoi'k into a college. 

3. Laws of 1866, chapter 637. An act directing the board of supervisors of the 

county of New York to raise $125,000 annually for the maintenance of the col- 
lege, and directing the trustees of the college to select a suitable site upon the 
lands of the corporation of the city of New York, north of Fortieth street in 
said city, for the future use of the college. 

4. Laws of 1872, chapter 471. An act increasing the annual appropriation to 

$150,000. 

5. Laws of 1872, chapter 631. An act making the president of the college a mem- 

ber of the board of trustees and of the executive committee of the board. 

6. Laws of 1882, chapter 143. An act to open the college to all male persons resid- 

ing in the city of New York who shall pass the prescribed examination for 
admission (doing away with the requirement of one year's attendance in a 
common school). 

7. Annual reports to the regents. 



THE ST. LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY, 1856.' 

By N. L. Robinson, B. A. (St. Lawrence and Harvard.) 

St. Lawrence University, John Clarence Lee, Ph. D., D. D., president: college of letters and 
science — Canton theological school. 

SEAL OF THE UNIVERSITY. 

Arms, Gules, cross bottony Argent; quartered with Sanguine, open 
book Argent; edges, covers, and clasps Or. 

The seal contains a shield with the arms on a circular field Or, on 
which is the motto fides et Veritas Gules, and on the rim the words 

VNIVERSITAS SANCTI LAVRENTII IN NOV. EBOR. MDCCCLVI. 

The college colors are scarlet and brown. 

The St. Lawrence University was chartered April 3, 1856, for the 
purpose, as stated in the act of incorporation, " of establishing, main- 
taining, and conducting a college in the town of Canton, St. Lawrence 
County, for the promotion of general education, and to cultivate and 

' The writer is indebted to Rev. Dr. T. J. Sawyer, of Tufts College, to Dr. F. S. 
Lee, of Columbia College, and to Prof. C. K. Gaines, of St. Lawrence, for valued 
assistance in the preparation of this sketch. 



ST. LA WHENCE UNIVERSITY. 303 

advance literature, science, and tlie arts; and also to establish and 
maintain a theological school and department in Canton aforesaid." 
As at present organized it embraces the college of letters and science, 
the theological school, and the library. The two schools are inde- 
pendent of each other in their faculties and funds and in the instruc- 
tion and government of their students. The library is under the 
Joint control of the schools. A law school was established in 1869 
and graduated two classes, but was discontinued in the fall of 1871. 
A plan for its revival is now being considered. A field of 26 acres, 
on which the present college hall had been erected by the XJni- 
versalist Educational Society for the use of a Universalist theological 
school, was transferred by the representatives of that society to the 
university in 1857, and during the same year the State appropriated 
for the college $25,000, of which 110,000 were to be expended for 
"books and apparatus," and 115,000 were to be kept as a perma- 
nent fund, on condition that an additional sum of 125,000 should be 
raised for its endowment by its friends. With this modest equipment 
it began. It has struggled with poverty throughout its career, but 
has grown slowly and sturdily to a respectable rank among the col- 
leges of the State. From its foundation the by-laws have provided 
that the college of letters and science should remain unsectarian in 
its teachings and influence. 

The charter trustees were Rev. Thomas J. Sawyer, D. D., Jacob 
Harsen, M. D., Rev. William Stephens Balch, Frederick C. Havemeyer, 
and Thomas Wallace, of New York; United States Senator Preston 
King, of Ogdensburg; Sidney Lawrence, of Moira; George C. Sher- 
man and Rev. Pitt Morse, of Watertown; Francis Seger, of Utica; 
James Sterling, of Sterlingville ; Caleb Barstow and Norman Van 
Nostrand, of Brooklyn; Josiah Barber, H. W. Barton, and Rev. John 
M. Austin, of Auburn; Rev. Lewis C. Browne, of Honeoye Falls; 
George E. Baker, of Albany; Peter H. Bitley, of Branchport; Rev. 
George W. Montgomery, of Rochester; and Hon. John L. Russell, 
Martin Thatcher, Barzillai Hodskin, Levi B. Storrs, and Theodore 
Caldwell, of Canton. Though not trustees. Rev. Dr. Edwin H. 
Chapin and Horace Greeley were among the founders of the university. 
The presidents of the corporation have been: 

Thomas Jefferson Sawyer, D. D. 1856-1867 

Martin Thatcher, esq 1867-1868 

Richmond Fisk, D. D -.- 1868-1871 

Jonas Sheldon Conkey, M. D.. -..- 1871-1883 

Arthur Guinness Rogers, D. D -- 1883-1887 

Edwin Atkins Merritt, LL. D 1887- 

The corporation consists of 24 members. 

The Theological School was opened in April, 1858, by Rev. Ebenezer 
Fisher, D. D., who remained at its head until he died in his lecture 
room February 21, 1879. Its first class, of five members, was gradu- 
ated in 1861. During Dr. Fisher's administration the school was per- 



304 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

manently endowed, and acliieved a wide reputation as the first and 
leading Universalist theological school in America. More than 150 
men passed from his training into the Christian ministry. He was 
succeeded as president and Dockstader professor of theology and 
ethics by Rev. Isaac Morgan Atwood, D. D., its present head, under 
whose care its endowment has been doubled, while its standard of 
education has steadily improved. Other professors have been: Mas- 
sena Goodrich, M. A., Biblical languages and literature, 1861-1863; 
Orello Cone, D. D., now president of Buchtel College, Craig prof essor of 
Biblical languages and literature, 1865-1880; John Stebbins Lee, D. D., 
Moore professor of ecclesiastical history and archaeology, 1869 — ; Henry 
Prentiss Forbes, D. D., Craig professor of Biblical languages, 1881 — ; 
Lewis Beals Fisher, Ryder prof essor of pastoral theology, 1891 — . 

Edwin Cortland BoUes, Ph. D. , D. D. , Alpheus Baker Hervey, Ph. D. , 
William Augustine Poste, M. A., Oscar Fitzalan Safford, D. D,, 
Adoniram Judson Patterson, D. D., William Henry Ryder, D. D., 
George Landor Perin, D. D., John Coleman Adams, D. D., Alonzo 
Ames Miner, D, D., LL. D., and Charles Henry Eaton, D. D., have 
been lecturers in the Theological School. Rev. Dr. Ryder died in 
1888, and made the school one of the five residuary legatees of his 
estate. Thus far $32,808.40 have been received from his bequest. 
The course of study leading to the degree of Bachelor of Divinity 
requires four years, but most of the students pursue a three years' 
course, for which a diploma is given. 

In April, 1859, an academic department was opened by Rev. John 
Stebbins Lee, D. D., a graduate of Amherst College, as principal and 
professor of the Latin and Greek languages. Dr. Lee continued at 
its head until 1868, and in 1869, after a year abroad, was called to the 
chair of church historj^ in the Theological School, which he still holds. 
He was assisted in his work in the College by John White Clapp, M. A. , 
an honorary graduate of Amherst, who was professor of mathematics 
until 1865. Professor Clapp was succeeded by Nehemiah White, 
Ph. D., D. D., lately president of Lombard University. Dr. White had 
charge of the mathematical department until 1871. At the beginning 
of Dr. Lee's administration the work in the academic department was 
wholly preparatory, but subsequently classical and scientific courses 
of studj^, similar to the ordinary courses in the New England colleges 
of that period and leading to the degrees of B. A. and B. S., were laid 
out and were entered upon by a number of the students. In 1865 was 
graduated the first college class, consisting of Hon. Hiram Henry Ryel, 
of the Lewis County bar, and Hon. Delos McCurdy, of the New York 
City bar. Hon. Pardon C. Williams, of Watertown, justice of the 
supreme court, and Mr. Leffert L. Buck, of New York, a civil engi- 
neer of distinction, left college before graduation, Mr. Buck to serve 
the Union in the civil war, and have since received their degrees 
nunc pro tunc £is of the jesiv 18^d. 




INTERIOR OF LIBRARY. 




ST. LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY— COLLEGE HALL.' 



I 



ST. LAWEENCE UNIVERSITY. 305 

Rev. Richmond Fisk, D. D., a graduate of Union, was elected 
president of the college in 1868, and served for three years. On his 
accession the preparatory school was discontinued, and only college 
work has since been done in this department. 

Dr. Fisk was succeeded in 1872 by Rev. Absalom Graves Gaines, 
D. D., LL. D., a native of Kentucky, educated at the University of 
Virginia. To the strong brain, sound scholarship, uprightness and 
purity of character, and persevering unselfish devotion of the latter 
is largely due the establishment of the college on a firm foundation. 
A man of earnest convictions and marked individuality, his influence 
in molding both intellectually and morallj^ the minds of his pupils has 
been notable. Resigning on account of illness in 1888, Mr. Gaines 
was succeeded as president in 1889 by Rev. Alpheus Baker Hei-vey, 
Ph. D., but retained his chair as Craig professor of psychology ^nd 
ethics, and political economy, and is now fully restored to health. 
President Hervey is a graduate of the university and held the Cum- 
mings professorship of natural science. He resigned in 1894. During 
his administration the number of students and the funds were largely 
increased. 

Among the professors and instructors in the college of letters and 
science have been Moses Marston, Ph. D., late professor of English 
literature in the University of Minnesota, Latin and Greek, 1868-1873; 
William Alexander Rich, LL. B., D. D., Latin and Greek ad interim, 
1871-72; James Henry Chapin, Ph. D., geology and mineralogy, 1871- 
1892; John Stocker Miller, M. A., LL. B., Latin and Greek, 1871-1874; 
Almeron Zenas Squires, M. A., LL. B., mathematics, 1872-1880; Wal- 
ter Balfour Gunnison, Ph. D., Latin language and literature, 1875- 
1885; Bernhard Jaques Pink, M. A., LL. B., modern languages, 1875- 
1882; Charles Kelsey Gaines, Ph. D., Greek language and literature, 
and English literature, 1876^; Henri Hermann Liotard, M. A., modern 
languages, 1882 — ; Henry Priest, M. A., Hayward professor of mathe- 
matics and physics, 1883 — ; Clement Morelle Baker, M. A., Latin 
language and literature, 1885-1892; Frederic Schiller Lee, Ph. D., 
physiology and biology, 1886-87; Robert Dale Ford, M. S., mathe- 
matics, 1887-1890; George Robert Hardie, M. A., Latin language and 
literature, 1892 — ; Ceylon Samuel Kingston, B. A., mathematics, 
1892-93; Everett Alberton Pugsley, B. A., English and history, 
1893-94; Warren Gardner Bullard, B. A., mathematics, 1893-94; 
George Daniel Hammond, B. A., history, 1894 — ; Edward Payson 
Manning, Ph. D., mathematics, 1894 — . 

The professors in the law school were Leslie Wead Russell, LL. D., 
lately attorney-general of New York, property, 1869-1871; William 
Christopher Cooke, practice, 1869-70; Stillman Foote, M. A., con- 
tracts, 1869-1871. 

The requirements for admission to the college and the courses of 
study leading to the degrees of B. A., B. S., Litt. B., and Ph. B. are 
3176 20 



306 HISTOUY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

of essentially the same grade as in the best colleges of the State. 
Instruction is offered at present in: Greek, 6 courses; Latin, 9 courses; 
German, 6 courses; French, G courses; English, 11 courses; rhetoric, 
2 courses; parliamentary debate, 2 courses; mathematics, 6 courses; 
physics, 4 courses; chemistry, qualitative analysis, 2 courses; chem- 
istry, quantitative analysis, 2 courses ; physiology, 1 course ; biology, 2 
courses; geology, 1 course; mineralogy, 1 course; astronomy, 2 courses; 
history, 8 courses; economics, 2 courses; psychology, 2 courses; logic 
2 courses; ethics, 1 course; evidences of religion, 1 course. 

During the freshman and sophomore years a greater part of the 
work is prescribed; for the upper classmen it is chiefly elective. A 
course of four years is required for the bachelor's degree. Since 1886 
the master's degree has been conferred only on examination and the 
completion of regular courses of not less than one j^ear. After 1895 
honors will be awarded at graduation to candidates whose scholarship 
reaches a high degree of excellence. It is intended that honors shall 
be given only where warranted by the standard of the best American 
universities. 

The beneficial effect of its training is seen in the earnestness with 
which large numbers of the graduates continue their studies in profes- 
sional schools and at leading American and foreign universities. It is, 
however, greatly to be desired that adequate provision be made for 
the erection and endowment of special chemical, physical, and bio- 
logical laboratories and for instruction in the fine arts. 

The library contains about 11,000 volumes, catalogued according to 
improved methods, several thousand jDamphlets, and a few valuable 
paintings and other works of art. It is open daily and is used 
constantly by the students and the public. Although it comprises 
many rare and costly books, including the Loveland collection and 
the library of the late Prof. C. A. Credner, of the University of 
Giessen, rich in theological works, especially of the early decades of 
the sixteenth century, it has of late been largely dependent for acces- 
sions upon the gifts of friends, and its wants are manifold. Since the 
loss of the income formerly supplied by the generositj^ of Mr. S. C. 
Herring it has had for the purchase of books onlj^ the income of a 
fund of 11,000, the gift of a friend who prefers to remain unknown. 
A fund of 125,000 is greatly needed. There are also several class- 
room reference libraries. Private libraries containing from 15,000 to 
20,000 volumes are open to the students. 

The university is well situated in a region at once attractive and 
remarkable for healthfulness, with spacious grounds on a hill over- 
looking the village of Canton, the shire town of Sfc. Lawrence County. 
AVith abundant facilities for recreation, the students are peculiarly 
free from undue distraction in their work, and are prompted to 
industry by every legitimate incentive. The unavoidable tempta- 
tions to vice and dissipation are here at a minimum, and are utterly 



ST. LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY. 307 

disconnteiianced, not merely by the discipline of the college, but also 
by the general sentiment of the students and of the neighborhood. 
The university buildings are College Hall, of brick, 45 by 100 feet, four 
stories high, erected in 185G; Herring Library, a fireproof structure of 
Potsdam sandstone, with a capacity for 60,000 volumes, built by the 
late Silas C. Herring, of New York, in 1870; Fisher Hall, a substan- 
tial edifice of Canton marble, erected in memory of President Fisher 
by the alumni in 1882 for the use of the theological school; and a 
president's house, of brick, erected by President Atwood in 1887. 
They stand in the middle of the college field, which is adorned with 
native trees and is ample for the future growth of the university. 
• The students maintain two public debating societies, one in each 
school, holding weekly meetings; two reading rooms; an athletic 
association, which celebrates an annual field day, and various boating, 
baseball, football, and tennis clubs. There are five Greek-letter socie- 
ties and a brotherhood, several of which occupy comfortable club 
houses. The Laurentian Publishing Company issues The Laurentian, 
a monthly undergraduate journal devoted to the interests of the uni- 
versity. The Canton Liberal, a monthly, is published by undergrad- 
uates of the divinity school. About 40 free scholarships in the college 
of letters and science have been established in the various schools of 
St. Lawrence County and northern New York, in the Clinton Liberal 
Institute at Fort Plain, and by private donors. These produce an 
income of from $50 to $240 each. The total necessary expenses of 
each student average from $175 to $350 per year. Many without 
means work their way through college by teaching and in other ways, 
and graduate free from debt. From the first women have been 
admitted to all the privileges of the university and number about one- 
fifth of its graduates. 

The university has received no aid from the State since the first 
grant of $25,000. Its benefactors have been manj^ Among them 
may be mentioned Charles A. Ropes, of Salem, Mass., whose gift of 
15,000 in 1865 saved the theological school from suspension ; Augustus 
C. Moore, of Buffalo, a charter trustee, who gave $25,000 to the theo- 
logical school; John Craig, of Rochester, from whose bequest each 
school received $25,000 in 1873 for the endowment of a Craig pro- 
fessorship; Alvinza Hay ward, of California, a native of Canton, who 
endowed the Hay ward professorship of mathematics and physics in 
the college with $30,000 in 1874; George A. Dockstader, of New York, 
who gave $10,000 to endow the Dockstader professorship in the theo- 
logical school; Mrs. Lorena Bicknell, of Stockholm, who left $10,000 
to the college in 1873; Thomas A. Goddard, of Boston, who left $3,000 
to the theological school; Miss Sarah A. Gage, of Hudson, who left 
$37,456 to the theological school; Lester Taylor and wife, of Fly 
Creek, who left $4,000 to the theological school; Rev. William H. 
Ryder, D. D., of Chicago, whose bequest of $32,808.40 has already 
been mentioned; Mrs. Abby M. Simmons, of Victor, who bequeathed 



308 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

15,000 to the college in memory of her husband, the late Richmond 
Simmons, esq. ; Dr. Joseph W. Clowes, of New York, who gave $5,000 
to the college in a time of serious need; the Hoyt and Watson families, 
of Sennett, from whom it has received four different legacies ; the late 
P. T. Barnum, who gave it $6,000; George C. Thomas, of Philadel- 
phia, a generous friend, who gave the college $5,000; the late David 
I. Stagg, of New York, under whose will the theological school received 
$5,000; Mrs. Mary Gunn, who gave 12,000 to the theological school; 
Lyman Bickford, of Macedon, who has given over $4,000 to the college 
and over $1,000 to the theological school; Mrs. Harriet Lewis, of 
Meriden, Conn., who has given upward of $5,000 to the college; and 
Mrs. Kate L. Chapin, of Meriden, who has endowed with $30,000 the 
Chapin professorship of geology and mineralogy in memory of her 
husband, for many years a loved and honored member of the college 
faculty. 

Previously to 1885 it was the practice of the trustees to pay the 
current expenses of the college of letters and science out of the funds, 
as the school had never been adequately endowed. It was the opinion 
of the then lately elected treasurer, Mr. George Robinson, that this 
policy was unsound, and that an endowment should be obtained. 
Accordingly, in June, 1885, the corporation voted to expend no more 
of the funds for any purpose, and thereafter to confine the expendi- 
ture of the university to its income. At that time the funds of the col- 
lege amounted to barely $50,000. The wisdom of this action is shown 
by the fact that they now (March, 1895) amount to nearly $200,000. 
A plan, suggested by the treasurer, for raising a fund of $50,000 by 
means of interest-bearing subscriptions, payable in five annual pay- 
ments, was adopted. A vigorous canvass was conducted by the offi- 
cers and friends of the university, assisted by the county press, with 
such success that the sum of $50,508 was raised before November 30, 
1887, without expense to the institution. About one-fourth of the 
whole sum was contributed by alumni and considerably more than 
one-half by citizens of St. Lawrence County. The undergraduate 
students, many of whom were working their own way through college, 
gave upward of $1,000. The names of the subscribers to this fund, 
over 400 in number, are engrossed upon parchment and hang in Her- 
ring Library, Immediately thereafter the raising of another $50,000 
was begun under the supervision of President Ilervey, and was com- 
pleted in 1889 by the gift of $25,000 by Columbus R. Cummings, esq., 
a native of Canton, now of Chicago, to establish the Cummings pro- 
fessorship of natural science. 

The property of the university may be summarized as follows: 

Total endowment fund $337,357.61 

Buildings and grounds -- 100,000.00 

Collections 20,000.00 

Total property of university - - 457, 357. 61 



ST. LAWEENCE UNIVERSITY. 



309 



The f oregodng estimate does not include legacies and gifts announced 
but not yet received. 

The funds are nearly all invested in bonds and mortgages on real 
estate. About $31,000 are held in corporate bonds. The policy of 
the university is to keep entirely free from debt, to incur no expense 
until the means are provided for paying it. The endowment of the 
college of letters and science ought to be three or four times its pres- 
ent amount in order to provide for the present needs of the college. 
St. Lawrence is the only college in the State north of the line of the 
Erie Canal, and is situated at about the middle of a fertile belt with 
a population of over 350,000, to whose youth it offers the only means 
of obtaining a liberal education without going a considerable distance 
from home. Probably a large majority of its graduates would never 
have gone to college had not St. Lawrence been at their doors. Upon 
the welfare and growth of the university the interests of higher edu- 
cation in this part of the State are largely dependent. 



GENERAL SUMMARY. 

The present teaching force is as follows : 
College 



Theological school. 6 



Officers of administration . 
Trustees _ . 



14 
5 

34 



The whole number of students in 1804-95 was: 



Graduate students _ _ 18 

Seniors 15 

Juniors . . 26 

Sophomores 16 

Freshmen . 32 

Special 11 

Total. 118 

Whole number of students in university 



THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL. 

Graduate students 4 

Seniors _ .... 6 

Middlers 10 

Juniors 8 

Special 6 

Total 34 

-. 152 



The whole number of graduates was 549, classified as follows : 



Number. Dead. Living. 



Bachelors of arts 

Bachelors of science 

Bachelors of philosophy 

Bachelors of laws _ _ 

Bachelors of divinity _ . _ 

Graduates in theology - 

Civil engineer 

Masters of arts on examination 

Masters of science on examination . . . 
Doctor of philosophy on examination 
Honorary graduates 

Total 



73 


2 


71 


180 


9 


171 


15 





15 


15 


4 


11 


14 





14 


206 


20 


186 


1 





1 


4 


1 


3 


4 





4 


1 





1 


36 


7 


29 



549 



43 



506 



310 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

BIBLIOaRAPHY. 

Laws of New York, 8vo. Albany, 1856, chapter 91, Charter of St. Lawrence 

University; 1857, chapter 350, appropriation for college; 1868, chapter 133; 

1869, chapter 288, special acts amending charter. 
Manuscript records of the corporation. Canton. Folio. 1856. 
A discourse occasioned by locating a Universalist seminary in Canton, N. Y., 

delivered in the First Presbyterian Church, Sunday, April 6, 1856. By 

J. R. Hale. 8vo. Pp. 47. Boston, 1856. 

A curious sermon in which subscribers to the fund for securing the proposed school, 
belonging to orthodox churches, are advised not to pay their subscriptions. By invitation 
of the First Presbyterian Society, President Hervey was inaugurated and the commence- 
ment exercises of the university were held in this chiirch in 1889. 

Act of incorporation and by-laws of the St. Lawrence University, together with 
forms of contribution by subscriptions, bequests, and devises, for the use of 
the same. New York. A. Taylor & Son, 1857. 16mo. Pp. 15. 

The same. Canton, 1871. 16mo. Pp. 10. 

Statement of facts and reasons in behalf of the Universalist Theological School at 
Canton, N. Y. Canton, 1860. 8vo. Pp. 13. 

An interesting pamphlet prepared by Dr. Fisher, containing much information in regard 
to the early history of the school. 

Laws and regulations of St. Lawrence University. Canton. 12mo. 

Circulars, with statement of courses, etc. 1859, 1&'66, 1868, 1871. The earlier 

issued in lieu of a catalogue. 
Annual catalogues of the St. Lawrence University. Canton. 8vo. 1864. 1866. 

1867. 1869. 
Triennial catalogues. Canton. 8vo. 1876. 1879. Quinquennial catalogues. 

1885. 1890. 
The St. Lawrence Plaindealer. Weekly. Canton. Folio. 1856. The 38 volumes 

of this journal, issued since the founding of the university, contain almost 

weekly references to the institution, and form an invaluable record of its 

history and growth. 
Scrapbooks kept by the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. Canton. 4to. These contain 

newspaper clippings, programmes, and other printed matter of interest. At 

present in four volumes. 
Annual Reports of the Regents of the University of the State of New York. 

Albany. 8vo. 1857-1894. 
The St. Lawrence University. Harper's Weekly. New York, December 5, 1868. 

With woodcut of University Hall and portraits of Dr. Fisher and Dr. Fisk. 
Old and New. Monthly. Boston. See Vol. IV, 1871, p. 139 et seq. 
History of St. Lawrence County, N. Y. Philadelphia, 1878. Contains historical 

sketch of the university, by W. A. Poste, M. A., and a lithograph of the col- 
lege buildings. 
Circular of information of the College of Letters and Science of the St. Lawrence 

University. Canton, 1880. 8vo. Pp. 8. 
The Gridiron, Canton, 1880, 1882. Students' annual. Illustrated by Frederic 

Remington and others. 
Memoir of Ebenezer Fisher, D. D., by George H. Emerson, D. D. 12mo. Boston, 

1880. Portrait of Dr. Fisher. 
The Public Service of the State of New York. 4to. Boston, 1882. 
Shall St. Lawrence University be saved? 8vo. Canton, 1886. Pp. 8. A state- 
ment of the condition of the college made during the canvass for the first 

$50,000 fund. 
Universalism in America. A history. By Richard Eddy, D. D. 2 volumes. 8vo. 



ALFEED UNIVEESITY. 311 

Boston, 1886. Contains a brief sketch of the university and in the appended 

bibliography much valuable information in regard to the university library. 
The Laurentian. 4to. Monthly. Canton, 1888. An undergraduate journal 

devoted to the interests of the university. 
The Canton Liberal. Svo. Monthly. Published by divinity students, 1894. 
Much information is to be found in the files of the Christian Leader. Weekly. 

Boston, 1879, and in the predecessors of that journal; also in the Universalist 

Register. Annual. Boston. 
New York State World's Fair Educational Exhibit. Handbook No. 26. 32mo. 

Albany, 1893. Pp. 28. 111. 
James Henry Chapin. By George Sumner Weaver, D. D. New York, 1894. 

12mo. Pp. viii, 386. Portraits and other illustrations. 
History of St. Lawrence County. 8vo. Syracuse, 1894. Contains historical 

sketch of university by N. L. Robinson. B. A. 



ALFRED UNIVERSITY, 1857. 

This institution, at first a school in the hands of the Seventh Day 
Baptists, was incorporated hj the regents as Alfred Academy in 1843, 
and^ "on the 28th of March, 1857, a university charter, to be so grafted 
onto the Alfred Academy as seemed best, was granted by the legisla- 
ture." 

This sudden evolution was due largely to the energy and zeal of 
President Kenyon, who had had charge of the school since 1839. He 
was made president of the college in 1857. 

PRESIDENT KENYON. 

President Kenyon's whole life, from his early struggles with poverty, 
when in a machinist's shop he "turned out iron and Latin paradigms 
together," through his fine work in organizing the Alfred Academy 
and up to his honored death, seems to have had something of a tinge 
of heroism in it. He stamped his individuality on the institution 
which represents his life work. 

Its history is no less closely connected with the life of Dr. Kenyon's 
successor, Rev. J. Allen. 

THE REV. J. ALLEN, D. D., LL. D., PH. D. 

An interesting fact regarding these two men is recorded in "The 
Alfred University" for June, 1889: 

One of the first acts in the process of organizing the university under its new 
charter was the election of Professor Allen as its president. This honor he 
modestly declined, preferring to serve the school in the capacity of a teacher 
rather than as its head. Prof. William C. Kenyon, whom no student at Alfred 
for the first thirty years of its history will ever forget, was elected president in his 
place. Professor Allen continued to teach and to serve the institution as general 
or financial agent until the ill-health of President Kenyon compelled him to resign 

'Lee memorial address, "Life and Labors of President Kenyon," commence- 
ment, July, 1867. 



312 HISTOEY OF- HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

in 1866, when Professor Allen was again chosen president, in which capacity he 
has served uninterruptedly until the present time, a period of twenty-three years. 

THE COURSES OF INSTRUCTION. 

The following departments are open to students, both men and 
women : 

1. Preparatory department. 

2. Department of the liberal arts, philosophy, and didactics, afford- 
ing complete instruction in the classical, philosophical, scientific, lit- 
erary, and normal courses. 

3. Department of business, with courses in penmanship, stenogra- 
phy, typewriting, bookkeeping, commercial transactions, and banking. 

4. Department of music, with full courses in vocal and instrumental 
music, composition, etc. 

5. Department of the fine arts, embracing drawing, sketching, cray- 
oning, painting, clay modeling, and china decorations. 

6. Department of industrial mechanics, including mechanical, archi- 
tectural, and machine drawing. 

7. Department of theology. 

DEGREES CONFERRED BY THE UNIVERSITY. 

Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Literature, Bache- 
lor of Philosophy, Bachelor of Industrial Mechanics, Bachelor of Civil 
Engineering, Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bachelor of Music, Bachelor of 
Accounts, Bachelor of Education, Bachelor of Divinity. 

STATISTICS OF INSTRUCTORS, STUDENTS, AND PROPERTY. 

Faculty - 17 

Students 146 

Net property ..- $287,749 

THE COLLEGE BUILDINGS 

Consist of the university hall, chapel, theological hall, a building 
for the English department, the observatory, a fine gymnasium, the 
Kenyon memorial hall of natural history, and the cabinet of archae- 
ology and art. The institution is well equipped with scientific appa- 
ratus and has good collections of archaeology, paleontology, etc. The 
library contains about 7,000 volumes and receives year Ij^ additions. 

The death of President J. Allen occurred September 21, 1892. Prof. A. B. 
Kenyon then served the institution as acting president until April, 1893, at which 
time Rev. Arthur E. Main, of Ashaway, R. I., was elected president and entered 
at once upon the duties of the office. 

After two years" service his resignation was accepted, to take effect with the close 
of the school year, June 20, 1895. 

At the annual trustee meeting held June 18, 1895, Rev. Boothe Colwell Davis, 
of Alfred, N. Y., was chosen president. He entered upon his duties as president 
with the opening of the school year, September 10, 1895. 



ST. Stephen's college. 313 

The university is in a prosperous condition. Its attendance is increasing; and 
in tlie past year it has greatly increased the facilities for work in various depart- 
ments. New qitarters have been provided for both the physical and chemical 
laboratories. 

In the past five years more than $80,000 have been added to the endowment funds 
of the university. ' 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

1. Memorial address, " Life and labors of President William C. Kenyon," deliv- 

ered by Jonathan Allen at commencement, July 3, 1867. 

2. Addresses delivered at the dedication of Kenyon Memorial Hall, Alfred Univer- 

sity, October 25, 1882. 

3. Decennial register, 1886. 

4. The Alfred University, a well-edited college paper with a motto: 

Thfire is nothing great in this world but man, and nothing great in man but mind. 

5. Laws of 1857, chap. 190, charter. Laws of 1859, chap. 77, amended. 



ST. STEPHEN'S COLLEGE, 1860, ANNANDALE. 
By the Rev. Robert B. Fairbairn, D. D., LL. D., Warden of the College. 

St. Stephen's College, Annandale, is beautifully situated, on the 
Hudson River, opposite the Catskill Mountains. It was founded in 
1860 by the diocese of New York as a training college for the ministry 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church. It is whollj^ a literary college, in 
which men are trained in Latin, Greek, mathematics, mental and 
moral philosophj^, and astronomy and natural philosophy, in logic, 
rhetoric, and history. In the colleges which to-day are dividing their 
curriculum into numerous courses this course at St. Stephen's would 
form one course. The whole course is an elective one, which is 
intended to meet the wants of young men who have determined on 
studying for the sacred ministry. It is these studies especially that 
should engage their attention as affording the best preparation for 
entering on the study of theology at a theological seminary. 

Another object in view was that it might afford an education at a 
lower rate of expense. The charges for board and for everything per- 
taining to living at the college are 1225. There are many scholar- 
ships which are furnished by the Society for Promoting Religion and 
Learning in the State of New York. They are given an examination. 
Those whose marks are between 70 and 85 receive $100, and for marks 
between 85 and 95 they receive $200, and those whose marks are above 
95 receive $300, the last paying the college bills and giving $75 over 
for personal expenses. 

Of those who have graduated bachelor of arts nearly 200 have 
received holy orders, while a few, about 20, have given themselves to 
other professions, such as medicine and law. It is open to young men 

^Extract from a letter written by President Davis October 8, 1895. 



314 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK, 

of the neighborhood without respect to the j)rofession which they have 
in view, as, indeed, it is to any when there is room for them. 

The number of students in 1890 was 81. The previous four years 
as many had to be declined as have been received. Could all be pro- 
vided for who ai)ply, instead of there being 81 there would be 150 
students. 

The buildings consist of three, which contain dormitories for 80 stu- 
dents, a dining hall, a library, an observatory, the Ludlow and Wil- 
link hall, the residence for the head of the college (called, after the 
English fashion, warden), and a chapel, which is also open for the 
neighborhood as o parish church. The buildings cost about $150,000, 
Also $5,000 have been received toward a fireproof library building. 

There are 8,000 volumes in the library, and the important reviews 
are received. The library is open every afternoon for the use of the 
students and as a reading room. 

The college has received toward endowment the past three years 
$66,000, of which fifty and more thousand have been received from 
the Rev. C. F. Hoffman, D. D., of New York. 

The graduates of the college are brought into competition in the 
theological seminary with those of the large colleges, such as Colum- 
bia, Yale, and Harvard, but they have shown their scholarship in 
taking the prize in their special department, the Greek Testament, 
and in other subjects pertaining to the study of theology. The special 
training has shown its fruits, as it has been necessary that it should 
in these days when Greek is treated as a fetich, and science and 
kindred studies have displaced those which are considered necessary 
for the clerical office. 

Already some of the persons educated at St. Stephen's have distin- 
guished themselves, and have justified the diocese of New York in 
founding and sustaining such a college. 



COLLEGE OF ST. FRANCIS XAVIER, 1861, NEW YORK CITY. 

This college was first incorporated by the regents in 1861, although 
it had already done ten years' work in the interests of education. In 
1870 it received an amended charter.^ It is conducted by the fathers 
of the Society of Jesus. The predominance of the church idea is 
noticeable not only in its curriculum, but also in the fact that the 
Society of Jesus has undertaken to furnish professors and tutors with- 
out pay beyond support. There are five distinct departments — pre- 
paratory, commercial, grammar, collegiate, and postgraduate. The 
usual collegiate degrees are conferred. The postgraduate course, 
leading to the degree of master of arts, occupies onlj^ one year. 

The first president of St. Francis Xavier College was the Rev. John 

' Laws 1870, chapter 46. 



MANHATTAN COLLLME. 315 

Ryan, S. J. Its present president is the Rev. Thomas E. Mnrphy, S. J. 
The total number of instructors is 29. The number of students in 
1893 was 90. 

The college is supported entirely by donations. It has received no 
help from the State. Its net property amounts to $378,372. 



MANHATTAN COLLEGE. 

[Sketch furnished by the college.] 
I. HISTORY. 

Manhattan College, situated in Manhattanville, New York City, was 
organized in 1853 under the name of "The Academy of the Holy 
Infancy." After careful and diligent study, a site overlooking the 
Hudson River and remarkable for beauty and convenience, was 
selected for the proposed building. The Most Reverend Archbishop 
Hughes took an active part in the foundation of the academy and 
during his life was a zealous promoter of its interests. 

The rising institution was taken charge of by the Brothers of the 
Christian Schools, a society of teachers which had already obtained 
in Europe a reputation for successful teaching. Under their skillful 
management the academy entered on a prosperous career, and after 
ten years' trial of its resources and stability, it was incorporated and 
chartered as a college by the University of the State of New York, 
under the name of Manhattan College, with power to grant all the 
usual degrees. The board of trustees, as at first constituted, consisted 
of 18 distinguished men of New York City, among whom were : Eugene 
Kelly, L. Silliman Ives, Henry L. Hoguet, Edward C. Donnelly, 
Edward J. Sears, and John E. Develin. 

Manhattan College received as its first president. Brother Patrick, 
who had previously filled the position of director of the academy. 
Under his energetic and enlightened management a rapid develop- 
ment took place and soon Manhattan College successfully rivaled 
many older fellow colleges. 

The second president, elected in 1873, was Brother Paulian. During 
his presidency an extensive addition to the college buildings was made 
in order to meet the increased demand for accommodation. 

In 1879 Brother Anthony became president, and in 1886 Brother 
Justin, who now fills the chair. 

II. DISTINGUISHED MEN. 

Brother Patrick was born in Ireland in 1822, and came while young 
to this country. The progress he made in studies, and his aptitude 
for administration secured him the position of director of a school in 
St. Louis. The office of director of the Academy of the Holy Infancy 



316 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

having become vacant in 1861, Brother Patrick received tlie nomina- 
tion. His chief care was to have the institution chartered as a college. 
This was efEeeted in 1863 and Brother Patrick became first president 
of Manhattan College. He governed the college with universal satis- 
faction till 1873 when he resigned to devote himself to the work of 
superintending the schools of America which are under the manage- 
ment of the Brothers of the Christian Schools — a position which he 
still fills. 

Brother Paulian. — Born in Ireland in 1831, he first distinguished 
himself as a professor in St. Louis. On the retirement of Brother 
Patrick from the presidency of Manhattan College in 1873, Brother 
Paulian was called to fill that office. Such was the confidence inspired 
by his prudent management that he was authorized to make an exten- 
sive addition to the college buildings. He, however, resigned in 1879 
to become president of the Brothers' College of St. Louis, the scene of 
his former labors. This position he still fills with dignity and effi- 
ciency. 

Brother Anthony, third president of Manhattan College, was born 
in 1841 in Rochester, IST. Y. His scholarlj^ acquirements drew on him 
the attention of the college, and in 1870 he was appointed professor 
of belles lettres. The presidency becoming vacant in 1879, by the 
resignation of Brother Paulian, he was unanimously chosen for that 
position. He, however, resigned in 1886 to take charge of an institu- 
tion in Buffalo, N. Y. 

L. SiLLiMAN Ives. — Born in Meriden, New Haven County, Conn. 
Having completed his studies he was ordained in the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church and became bishop of North Carolina. In 1852 he 
joined the Roman Catholic Church. He founded the New York 
Catholic Protectory, and was one of the first petitioners for the incor- 
poration of Manhattan College and was the first chairman of the board 
of trustees, which position he occupied till his death in 1867. 

Edward I. Sears. — Born in Ireland in 1824; was a contributor to 
the Dublin University Magazine, and other magazines. In 1860 he 
became editor of the National Quarterly Review. He was one of the 
eighteen petitioners for the incorporation of Manhattan College and 
was elected secretary of the board of trustees which position he filled 
till his death in 1876. 

John E. Develin. — Born in 1820; was educated in Georgetown Col- 
lege, District of Columbia. He occupied a distinguished position in 
the legal profession. He became chairman of the board of trustees 
of Manhattan College in 1867 and was an able supporter and the legal 
adviser of the college till his death in 1888. 

III. SCOPE. 

Manhattan College is a college of liberal arts. Its graduates, owing 
to the systematic training they receive, find ready access to the 



1 



MANHATTAN COLLEGE. 317 

various professions — law, medicine, and the sacred ministry. Its aim 
has always been to give young men a liberal and Christian education, 
and to make useful members of societj^ and good citizens of our country. 
Nor have its efforts been in vain. Young men trained in Manhattan 
College are to be found in all the walks of life. 

In late years, attentive to the wants of young men, the college 
opened a department of practical science, and students who pass dulj^ 
through this course receive the degree of bachelor of science. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Sears, E. I. Manhattan College. National Quarterly Review, 7, 97. 



ROBERT COLLEGE OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 1864. 

Chartered by the legislature of the State of New York in 18G4. 
Located at Constantinople, Turkey. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Gould, E. P. Education, 11, 1. 



SYRIAN PROTESTANT COLLEGE 1864. 

Chartered by the legislature of the State of New York in 1864. 
Located at Beirut, Syria. 



CORNELL UNIVERSITY. 

An Historical Sketch of its First Thirty Years, 1868-1898. 

By Ernest W. Huffcut, professor of law in Cornell University. 

I would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study. — Ezra 
Cornell. 

I. 

THE FEDERAL LAND GRANT AND THE PEOPLE'S COLLEGE. 

The Federal Land Grant. 

At a moment when civil war was threatening the existence of the 
nation, the Hon. Justin S. Morrill, of Vermont, introduced in Con- 
gress a measure whose peaceful and far-reaching results can not even 
yet be estimated. The purpose of the bill was to endow in each State 
at least one college whose object should be, "without excluding other 
scientific and classical studies, and including military tactics, to 
teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the 
mechanic arts, in such manner as the legislatures of the States may 
respectively prescribe, in order to promote the liberal and practical 
education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and profes- 
sions in life."^ For the accomplishment of this purpose the act 
granted to each State an amount of land equal to 30,000 acres for each 
Senator and Representative in Congress. In States in which there 
were public lands subject to sale at private entry at $1.25 per acre, 
the lands were to be selected within the limits of the State claiming 
the grant; to each State in which there were no such public lands 
the Secretary of the Interior was to issue land scrip representing the 
amount to which the State was entitled. This bill became a law by 
the approval of President Lincoln on Jul}^ 2, 1862. 

Under the provisions of this act New York became entitled to scrip 
representing 990,000 acres of land. The State in fact received 6,187 
pieces of scrip of 160 acres each, representing 989,920 acres; the differ- 
ence of 80 acres being due to the fact that no scrip was issued for less 
amount than 160 acres. The State itself was prohibited by the terms 
of the land-grant act from locating the lands within the limits of any 
other State, and as there were no lands subject to entry in New York 
the sale of the scrip was the only means of realizing on the grant. 

' Public Laws of the United States, 1862, chapter 130. Mr. Morrill had previously 
introduced a similar bill in 1857, which passed both Houses, but was vetoed by- 
President Buchanan. (See Congressional Globe, second session, Thirty- fifth Con- 
gress, 1858-9, Pt. II, p. 1412.) This bill and Mr. Morrill's speech on it were among 
the articles deposited within the corner stone of the People's College in 1858. (See 
Exercises at laying of corner stone, p. 18.) 
318 



CORNELL UNIVEKSITY. 319 

The extent of the great endowment that thus came to New York 
from the Federal Government can with difficulty be fully realized. 
Had the land represented by the scrip been located in contiguous sec- 
tions it would have covered an area of over 1,500 square miles. Such 
a domain would have been one-third the size of Connecticut, three- 
fourths as lai'ge as Delaware, and wonld have exceeded the whole 
State of Rhode Island by more than 300 square miles. So imperial 
would it have been that only eight out of the twenty-six states of the 
German Empire would exceed it in size ; while seven of these states 
could have been placed side by side upon its surface and enough ter- 
ritory remain uncovered to contain the fifth smallest state in that 
powerful Empire. 

If the share of New York was thus extensive, the aggregate of the 
shares of all the States was indeed princely. The territory donated 
by the General Government for higher education, under the land-grant 
act, was larger in extent than any one of the eight smallest States in 
the Union, and was but a trifle smaller than the combined areas of the 
four smallest; it exceeded in size the combined areas of Rhode Island, 
Connecticut, and Massachusetts, or the combined areas of Delaware 
and Marj^land; it would have made two States of the size of New 
Jersej^, three of the size of Connecticut, seven of the size of Delaware, 
and twelve of the size of Rhode Island. Compared with European 
countries, this domain dedicated to education was one-fourth as large 
as England and Wales and one-eighth as large as the United Kingdom 
of Great Britain and Ireland ; it was larger than any one of twenty- 
four out of the twenty-six states of the German Empire, exceeded the 
combined areas of nineteen of those states, and of the two largest 
states of the Empire — Bavaria and Prussia — was one-half as large as 
the one and one-ninth as large as the other; if placed upon a map of 
Europe it would have successively blotted out Belgium, Denmark, 
and the Netherlands, and would have left but a fragment of Switzer- 
land and the lesser moiety of Servia, Bulgaria, and Greece. 

Of this great land grant New York, owing to her large representa- 
tion in Congress, had over one-tenth, an amount 200,000 acres in 
excess of that to which Pennsylvania, the next largest State, became 
entitled, 350,000 acres in excess of Ohio's share, and more than double 
that of Illinois, Massachusetts, Indiana, Missouri, or Kentucky, the 
only other States whose grant exceeded 300,000 acres. Thus, New 
York, the Empire State, becamje the beneficiary and the trustee of the 
most magnificent educational endowment ever bestowed by the United 
States, or perhaps by any nation. 

The People's College. 

1. ACCEPTANCE OF THE SCRIP. 

On the 5th of May, 1863, the legislature of the State of New York 
formally accepted the grant, and authorized the comptroller of the 



320 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

State to sell the scrip, as lie and certain other State officers might 
deem advisable, and to invest the proceeds in bonds at not less than 
5 per cent.^ The scrip at this time was selling in the market for 
about 85 cents per acre, and it was estimated that the entire endow- 
ment fund would reach 1800,000 and yield an annual income of about 
$40,000.^ It was the evident purpose of the legislature to turn this 
scrip into an interest-bearing fund as fast as was consistent with good 
management. There could be no object in doing otherwise, for, as 
the amount of laud subject to entry at $1.25 per acre was practically 
unlimited, there could be no prospect that the scrip would command 
a premium, and as the State was prohibited from locating the lands 
there could be no hope of acquiring a landed estate which might 
appreciate in value. Therefore the sooner the endowment could be 
made to yield a permanent income the greater would be the benefits 
secured to the State. 

2. BESTOWAL UPON THE PEOPLE'S COLLEGE. 

Having determined the means by which the income from the endow- 
ment was to be realized, the legislature next decided upon the direc- 
tion which it should take. 

There was naturally much division of opinion upon this latter point. 
The terms of the land grant left it within the discretion of the legis- 
lature to bestow the endowment upon a single, college or to divide it 
between two or more. The possibility of securing some portion of 
the grant aroused the numerous small and needy colleges throughout 
the State to earnest and persistent efforts. But it was soon seen that 
the choice lay between the People's College, located at Havana, and 
the State Agricultural college, which had recently been established at 
Ovid. 

The latter institution was chartered in 1853, and opened its doors in 
1860 under the jDresidency of Brig. Gen. M. R. Patrick. The outbreak 
of the civil war called General Patrick into the service of the State 
and closed the college at the end of its first year. It was still closed, 
with small prospect of reopening, when the Federal land grant seemed 
to its trustees and friends to hold out a promise of ample endowment 
and future prosperitj^^ 

The People's College was the outcome of a movement begun as 
early as 1850, in which Harrison Howard, then a resident of Lock- 
port, was one of the principal leaders.^ Mr. Howard was a member 

1 Laws of New York, 1863, ch. 460. 

'^ Report of the comptroller for 1864, p. 28. 

» New York senate docs., 1864, No. 55; 1865, No. 39. 

■* Cornell University has now in its possession a book of records, documents, and 
newspaper clippings kept by Mr. Howard during the progress of this movement. 
The writer is largely indebted to these records for what follows. The outlines of 
the movement are sketched in an address by William Stuart, delivered before the 
People's College Association in 1857 and afterwards published. (Cornell Univer- 
sity Pamphlets, vol. 2.) 



COETSTELL UNIVERSITY. 321. 

of what was known as the Mechanics' Mutual Protection Society, 
and had delivered various addresses before the society on the estab- 
lishment of a school for the education of mechanics. He had inter- 
ested the Hon. Washington Hunt, afterwards governor of the State, 
Horace Greeley, and the Hon. T. C. Peters, editor of the Wool- 
grower, in his plan for such a school. Mr. Greeley wrote an extended 
editorial in the New York Tribune in June, 1850, on "A Mechanics' 
University;" and Mr. Peters proposed that the mechanics and farmers 
should join in a common effort to secure adequate educational facili- 
ties of a practical character. An association was formed in 1851 to 
further the enterprise, and a prospectus, drafted by Mr. Greeley and 
Mr. Peters, was soon after widely distributed. This prospectus 
enunciates certain principles on which the proposed college — now 
termed "The People's College" — is to be established. These are: 
To teach practical sciences essential to agriculture and the useful 
arts; to furnish labor to students; to require both students and 
teachers to labor from ten to twenty hours each week; to furnish equal 
facilities to men and women ; to give students free choice of branches 
of learning, but to require proficiency in agriculture or some branch 
of manufacturing or mechanical industry. Mr. Greeley and Mr. 
Peters were appointed by the association a committee to draft a char- 
ter and secure its passage by the legislature. A charter was granted 
in 1853 by which the corporation was to consist of stockholders who 
should take shares at $1 each. The provisions as to the educational 
plan of the college were practically the same as those set forth in the 
prospectus.^ 

The Hon. Charles Cook, of Havana, having become a patron of the 
proposed college, it was voted in 1857 to locate the institution at 
Havana in accordance with his wishes. Work was begun on a build- 
ing, the corner stone being laid with much ceremony on September 2, 
1858, but nothing was completed and the institution was not yet open 
when the struggle for the land grant began. ^ 

In the same year the Rev. Amos Brown was elected president of the 
college. Dr. Brown was an educator of marked ability, who had 
taken a deep interest in promoting the educational interests of the 
State and nation. After his election he spent much time in Wash- 
ington urging the passage of the Morrill land-grant bill, and there is 
abundant testimony as to the efficiency of his services in that behalf. 
When finally the bill became a law it was but natural that he should 
seek to secure the grant to New York for his own college. Mr. Cook, the 
patron, was at that time a senator in the State legislature, and through 
his influence the desired result was accomplished. The People's Col- 
lege secured outright the whole of the coveted prize. ^ 



^ Laws of New York, 1857, ch. 80. 

2 Report of People's College in regents' report, 1865. 

3 Laws of New York, 1863, ch. 511, act of May 14, 1863. 
3176 21 



322 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

The result was a surprise to many and a great disappointment to 
the Agricultural College. 

To their astonishment and to the amazement of friends of education through, 
out the land, the whole of this vast fund was bestowed upon a college which had 
never for a day opened its doors for pupils, and which does not possess the sym" 
pathy of the leading farmers throughout the State.' 

The terms of the grant were certainly sufficiently liberal. The trus- 
tees were to satisfy the regents of the State within three years from 
the passage of the bill that the college was prepared with ten compe- 
tent professors to give instruction in branches related to agriculture, 
mechanic arts, and military tactics; that it possessed suitable accom- 
modations for at least 250 students; that it owned a farm of at least 
200 acres for the practical teaching of agriculture and suitable shops 
for the teaching of mechanic arts; and that it possessed a suitable 
library and philosophical and chemical apparatus. Upon satisfactory 
evidence that it had fulfilled these conditions it was to come into the 
full enjoyment of the income from the land grant. 

3. LOSS OF THE SCRIP BY THE PEOPLE'S COLLEGE. 

The history of the efforts and the failure of the People's College to 
retain the prize it had grasped can not be followed in detail. After a 
lapse of two of the three years prescribed it became evident that noth- 
ing would be done by that institution. In accordance with a resolution 
of the senate, the board of regents undertook an investigation of the 
conditions and prospects of the college with a view to determining 
whether, in their opinion, it would be able to fulfill the conditions of 
the act under which it received the grant. Their report disclosed 
that the college owed chiefly whatever material possessions it could 
boast to its patron, Mr. Cook. These, however, were far from munifi- 
cent. A single building had been erected at a cost of $60,000, and 
upon this the patron held a lien for 131,700. In addition it had a 
subscription from Mr. Cook of $25,000 and had received from other 
sources about $14,000. Its domain consisted of 100 acres of land. 
All told, its entire property did not exceed $70,000 in value. ^ Its pros- 
pects were not flattering. Mr. Cook, who had been relied upon to 
meet the requirements of the grant, began to cool in his enthusiasm 
for the college. Mr. Howard says: 

After Mr. Cook was sick and had a paralytic shock, he was never quite him- 
self again. Nothing that could be said to him would induce him to go on with 
the work, advance the means to comply with the conditions of the law, and save 
the land.-* 

The consequence was that the People's College practically gave up 
the struggle to retain the grant, or, indeed, to be a college. Under 

' Report of trustees of Agricultural College, sen. doc. 55, 1864. 

2 Senate Docs., 1865, No. 45. 

3 Howard MSS. 



COENELL UNIVERSITY. 323 

the name of Cook Academy the institution has continued its work as 
a preparatory school down to the present day, but the ' ' People's Col- 
lege " never having had vitality enough to seize firmly or to retain 
the great land grant, permitted the prize to drop from its nerveless 
grasp, and so disappeared from the history of higher education to 
which it contributed nothing but a name. 

11. 

THE FOUNDING OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY. 

A. The Founders. 

The meeting of the legislature of 1864 brought together for the first 
time two men whose names are indissolubly connected with Cornell 
University — from one of whom it took its name and its material pros- 
perity and from the other its educational spirit and purpose— Ezi^a 
Cornell and Andrew Dickson White. Never were two associates in 
a great work more unlike in temperament, training, and tastes. Mr. 
Cornell was then 57 years of age, and from his earliest boyhood had 
been inured to hard and often rough work, from which by his persist- 
ency and foresight he had risen to a position of wealth and influence. 
His education had been won during the winter terms of district schools. 
His training in the hard school of experience, coupled with his Quaker 
origin, had given him a reserved and austere air, which his tall, spare 
figure and firm-set mouth tended to emphasize. He seemed the embod- 
iment of New England shrewdness, austerity, and success.^ Mr. 
White, on the other hand, was but 31 years old, the youngest, as per- 
haps Mr. Cornell was the oldest, member of the senate. He was a 
graduate of Yale, a student of several of the foremost universities of 
Europe, a professor of history in the University of Michigan, withal 
a man of the highest culture and broadest sympathies. Graceful, 
polished, an eloquent and effective speaker, a ready debater, of an 
enthusiastic temperament, he seemed in all things the very opposite 
of the grave and quiet man of business with whom he was associated. 
Yet in the brains and hearts of these two men lay the germ of Cornell 
University. 

Mr. White has himself told how these two natures, apparently so 
different; were brought into contact : 

Upon the announcement of committees, our paths seemed separated entirely, 
for he was made chairman of the committee on agriculture, while to me fell the 
chairmanship of the committee on education. 

And yet it was this last difference which drew us together; for among the first 
things referred to my committee was a bill to incorporate a public library which 
he proposed to found in Ithaca. 

On reading this bill I was struck, not merely by its provision for a gift of 
,000 to his townsmen, but even more by a certain breadth and largeness in his 



' For biographical authorities for Mr. Cornell's life and character, see bibliogra- 
phy in appendix to this sketch. 



324 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATIOIST IN I^EW YORK. 

way of making it. The most striking sign of this was his mode of forming a board 
of trustees; for, instead of the nsual effort to tie tip the organization forever in some 
sect, party, or clique, he had named the best men of his town — his political oppo- 
nents as well as his friends— and had added to them the pastors of all the princi- 
pal churches. Catholic and Protestant. 

The breadth of mind revealed by this provision, even more than the munificence 
of his purpose, drew me to him. We met several times, discussed his bill, and 
finally I reported it substantially as introduced, and supported it until it became 
a law. ' 

The acquaintance thus begun ripened into a close and confidential 
friendship extending over a period of ten years, or until Mr. Cornell's 
death. During most of that time these two men — the unlettered man 
of affairs and the cultured scholar — wrought side by side in the found- 
ing and upbuilding of New York's great university. 

B. A Year of Preparation. 

1. LEGISLATURE OP 1864. 

Even as early as 1864 it was seen that the People's College would 
probably never be able to claim the benefits of the land grant. 
Renewed efforts began, therefore, to be made to secure the whole or 
a part of the endowment for other institutions. A bill to repeal the 
grant to the People's College was introduced into the senate, but 
failed to pass. A bill to amend the act granting the lands to the 
People's College so as to divert a portion to the Agricultural College 
also failed. This latter measure was introduced by Mr. Cornell, and 
was referred to the committee on literature and the committee on 
agriculture jointly. The bill appears never to have got beyond the 
committee. It was then developed that Mr. White, who was chair- 
man of the committee on literature, was earnestly opposed to any 
division of the fund, and he probably succeeded in keeping the bill 
out of the senate. He united with Mr. Cornell, however, in report- 
ing favorably the bill to repeal the grant to the People's College, but 
the repealing clause was struck out in the committee of the whole. 
A similar bill also failed in the assembly. The legislature adjourned 
without taking any further action on the grant, and the People's 
College was given another respite.^ 

3. MR. CORNELL'S FIRST PROPOSAL. 

During the succeeding summer Mr. Cornell made the first of the 
proposals which finally took form in the founding of an entirely new 
institution. Hoping to overcome the opposition of Mr. White and to 
secure his support at the ensuing session of the legislature, Mr. Cor- 
nell invited his young colleague to a meeting of the trustees of the 



'Andrew D. White. "My Reminiscences of Ezra Cornell: An address delivered 
before the Cornell University on Founders" Day, January 11, 1890," pp. 3 and 4. 

'Senate journal, 1864, pp. 30, 39, 41, 42, 56, 57, 261, 361, 643, 873; assembly journal, 
1864, pp. 648, 681, 1145, 



■ 



COElSrELL UNIVERSITY. 325 

State ^Vgi'iciiltural College held at Rochester. At this meeting Mr. 
Coi'iiell ijroposed to draw a new bill bestowing upon the State Agri- 
cultural College an income of $30,000 from the land-grant fund when- 
ever the college should have secured an independent endowment of 
$300,000, which sum he pledged himself to give. This, he calculated, 
woidd be equivalent to keeping the whole fund together and would 
remove all objections to the proposed division. 

To the general surprise, however, Mr. White still opposed any divi- 
sion of the fund. It is probable that he saw in Mr. Cornell's generous 
offer the opportunitj^ of augmenting the fund instead of decreasing it, 
and color is lent to this supjDosition by the fact that he then x^roposed 
that Mr. Cornell should ask for the entire fund, pledging at the same 
time the $300,000. If this were done, he signified his willingness to 
support the bill vigorously in his committee and in the senate. The 
meeting seems to have adjourned without any agreement being reached, 
but the germ idea of Cornell University was beginning to take definite 
form in the brain of the founder. ^ 

C. The Struggle in the Legislature of 1865. 

1. MR. CORNELL'S FINAL PROPOSAL. 

The legislature of 1865 settled finally and for all time the vexed 
question of the land grant. 

Mr. Cornell had prepared a masterful solution of the difficulty. 
Convinced of the inexpediency of dividing the fund, he simioly pro- 
posed that if the State would turn the endowment over to an entirely 
new institution he would add to the endowment the sum of $500,000 
out of his own means. 

This conclusion was reached after consultation with trusted friends, 
and especially with Mr. White, who, in his reminiscences of Mr. Cor- 
nell, has related the story of the founder's munificent proposal. Nor 
had Mr. Cornell yielded his interest in the Agricultural College with- 
out careful consideration, nor without consultation with the friends 
of that institution. As early as January 12, 1865, the board of trustees 
of the Agricultual College had invited the friends of the People's Col- 
lege to meet in a conference to take into consideration Mr. Cornell's 
offer. On January 24 a number of gentlemen interested in those two 
institutions met with Mr. Cornell and Mr. White at Albany, and after 
a discussion of the questions involved unanimously resolved that the 
courses of the Agricultural and People's 'ollegee should be united in 
a single institution, "located at such place in the central part of this 
State as shall, at an early day, jjresent the greatest pecuniary induce- 
ments," and that this institution ought to be the recipient of the land- 
grant fund. 

'White: Rem. of Ezra Cornell, p. 5; A. B. Cornell, Biog. of Ezra Cornell, p. 194, 
where we read: •' The defeat of the proposition to divide and disperse the land- 
grant income was due more to his [Senator White's] arguments and mfluence 
than to any other cause." 



326 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATIOlSr IN NEW YORK. 

Mr. Greeley, long a trustee of the People's College, wrote: 

I bad hoped that the People's College at Havana would grow into what is 
required, but that hope seems unlikely to be realized, while Senator Cornell's noble 
proffer appears to give promise of a glorious realization. I have, therefore, decided 
to give whatever help I may to this imdertaking, and I hojje the land grant for 
our State will be transferred without division and diminution to the Ithaca 
College. ' 

Otlier trustees of the People's College — notably Erastus Brooks, 
Daniel S. Dickinson, and Edwin B. Morgan — also transferred their 
allegiance to Mr. Cornell's proposed university. 

Thus fortified by friends of both the institutions which had the 
strongest claims on the fund, Mr. Cornell decided to push his measure 
for the establishment of a new university. 

3. PASSAGE OP THE CHARTER. 

On February 3 Mr. White gave notice that he would introduce in 
the senate a bill to establish the Cornell University and to appropri- 
ate to it the income of the sale of lands granted to the State by the 
General Government.^ On the next day he introduced a resolution 
requesting the board of regents to inquire into the condition of the 
People's College and state whether it was likely to be able to avail 
itself of the land-grant fund.^ On the 7th he introduced the bill incor- 
porating Cornell University and appropriating to it the endowment 
from the land grant. * The bill was referred to the committees on litera- 
ture and agriculture jointly. On the 15th the regents made their 
report on the condition of tlie People's College, showing that it had 
fallen far short of complying with the conditions of tlie act under 
which it might claim the benefits of the land grant. ^ On the 25th the 
bill was reported favorably by the joint committee and was laid on 
the table, where it remained until the 28th, when it was taken up and 
recommitted to the joint committee. ® It was reported back on March 9 
and considered in committee of the whole on that and the succeed- 
ing day, and was amended so as to permit the People's College to 
deposit with the State treasurer within three months, in lieu of the 
conditions imposed upon it, such a sum as, in the opinion of the 
regents, would enable it to fulfill those conditions at some future time, 
and in case such deposit was made the grant to Cornell University 
was to be void. 

Thus amended it was again recommitted to the joint committee for 
final completion.'^ It seems to have been put, however, into the hands 

1 Letter to Mr. White, Feb. 20, 1865. Pamphlet headed The Cornell University, 
N. D. [1865]. 

- Senate Journal, 1865, p. 144. 

«Ibid.,p. 149. 

''Ibid, p. 155. 

5 Senate docs. 1865, No. 45. 

'^Senate Journal, 1865, pp. 244, 275. 

Ubid.,p. 374. 



CORTSTELL UNIVERSITY. 327 

of Mr. Folger, chairman of tlie judiciary committee, who reported it 
to the senate on the 15th as from the joint committees of the judiciary 
and literature and recommended its passage.^ It was engrossed, and 
on the 16th passed the senate by a vote of 25 to 2.^ 

Mr. White's services in pushing the bill through the senate were of 
the fii*st importance. He had addressed letters to representative men 
throughout the State, and especially to those interested in the People's 
College. He had acquainted himself with the actual condition of that 
institution, and had armed himself at all points for a vigorous battle. 
His services culminated in a speech ^ delivered in the senate, in which 
he showed the injustice to the people of the State and to the cause of 
education in permitting such an offer as that of Mr. Cornell to pass 
unaccepted. He declared his unalterable opposition to any division 
of the fund; showed the utter prostration of the People's College, and 
the evident purpose of Mr. Cook not to carry out his plans for an 
enlargement of its resources; proved that the Agricultural College 
was bankrupt and had been given up as a failure by its best friends ; 
and put in glowing terms the advantages to the people of the State of 
such a seat of learning as Mr. Cornell proposed to establish. In his 
committee and on the floor of the senate Mr. White was the leading 
champion of Mr. Cornell's noble desire to do something for the prac- 
tical education of the people. 

In the assembly the bill was referred to the committee on colleges, 
academies, and common schools and the committee on agriculture 
jointly.* Here it slumbered for nearly a month, when, on April 12, 
its friends passed a resolution instructing the committee to report it 
for consideration.^ This action defeated an evident purpose to 
"pocket" the bill. The committee reported it on the 13th,'' and it 
was considered in committee of the whole on that day," where it was 
amended, and was passed as amended on the 21st by a vote of 79 to 25.^ 

The amendment made in the assembly was of a very peculiar 
nature. A strong lobby had gone up to Albany in behalf of various 
small colleges which were anxious to secure a portion of the land 
grant. All of these had some backing in the legislature. 

The friends of the Genesee College, of Lima, succeeded in forcing 
into the bill an amendment providing that in addition to the $500,000 
Mr. Cornell was pledged to give to the new university he should also 

1 Senate Journal, 1865, p. 417. 
2 Ibid., p. 438. 

3 This speech was printed and may be found among the pamphlets relating to 
Cornell University in the university library. 
•* Assembly Journal, 1865, p. 696. 
* Ibid., p. 1253. 
«Ibid.,p. 1280. 
'Ibid., p. 1288. 
« Ibid., p. 1336. 



328 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW TOUK. 

be required to give 125,000 to the Genesee College before his univer- 
sity would become entitled to the land grant. Mr. Cornell consented 
rather than abandon his plan.^ 

This was not the only trial, however, to which the determined pur- 
pose of the founder was put. At a hearing before the assembly com- 
mittee, a lawyer engaged in behalf of the People's College held Mr. 
Cornell up to public gaze as a vain and selfish speculator, who, while 
seeking to build a monument to himself, was also on the point of 
" grabbing" the great land grant for mercenary ends; and with such 
fustian, epithets, and innuendoes sought to bring his whole philan- 
thropic scheme into suspicion and contempt. Through it all Mr. 
Cornell sat grave and quiet, with Mrs. Cornell on one hand and Mr. 
White on the other, unmoved and unangered. " I admired," says 
Mr. White, " Mr. Cornell on many occasions, but never more than 
during that hour when he sat, without the slightest anger, mildly 
taking the abuse of that prostituted pettifogger, the indifference of 
the committee, and the laughter of the audience. It was a scene for 
a painter, and I trust that some day it will be fitly perpetuated for 
the university."^ 

These attacks upon his motives and upon his purse seem never to 
have shaken the purposes of Mr. Cornell. He quietly ignored the 
slanders of the attorney for the opposition, and he accepted uncom- 
plainingly the amendments to the bill carried through by the People's 
College and by the Genesee College. 

This last amendment came near wrecking the whole matter when 
the bill came back to the senate, for Mr. Cornell's friends were so 
justly indign'^int at the extortion that they wished to reject the amend- 
ment ; but as the session was nearly over, and to trust the bill again 
to the assembly would be extremely hazardous, the senate concurred 
and the bill became a law by the approval of the governor on the 27th 
of April, 1865. The struggle for the possession of the great land grant 
was over, and the work of building a university was now to begin. 

1 A subsequent legislature passed an act refunding this sum of $25,000, not to 
Mr. Cornell, but to Cornell University. Thus, in effect, the State gave Genesee 
College $35,000, and Mr. Cornell's endowment was forced up to $525,000. (See 
Laws of New York, 1867, chapter 174.) 

'^ My Reminiscences of Ezra Cornell, p. 12. " In one of the worst tirades against 
him he turned to me and said quietly, and without the slightest anger or excite- 
ment, ' If I could think of any other way in which half a million dollars would 
do as much good to the State, I would give the legislature no more trouble.' 
Shortly afterwards, when the invective was again especially bitter, he turned to me 
and said, ' I am not sure but it would be a good thing for me to give the half mil- 
lion to old Harvard College, in Massachusetts, to educate the descendants of the 
men who hanged my forefathers.' " [Referring to his Quaker ancestry.]— Ibid. 



OOENELL UNIVERSITY. 829 

D. The University Charter. 

1. HOW THE CHARTER WAS FRAMED. 

The charter was the joint work of three men — Ezra Cornell, Andrew 
D. White, and Charles J. Folger, the last being at that time chairman 
of the judiciary committee of the senate. Mr. Cornell drafted the 
portion relating to the endowment and the land grant; Mr. White, 
the portion relating to educational features, scholarships, and non- 
sectarianism; Mr. Folger put the whole, when drafted, into proper 
legal form. 

Mr. White, in his Reminiscences of Mr. Cornell,^ bears witness to 
the largeness and saneness of Mr. Cornell's views, as shown in the 
preparation of the charter. His own broad and sagacious views as to 
the principles and policy of the university were rendered more valu- 
able by the readiness with which he accepted and acted upon sugges- 
tions from his two colleagues and advisers. On matters of educational 
features he deferred to Mr. White; on matters of legal features, to 
Mr. Folger. But he summed up his own large purpose in the phrase 
which he uttered at that time as the fundamental idea which should 
control every provision of the charter: "I would found an institution 
where any person can find instruction in any study." This idea he 
fixed unalterably at the center of his plan, and from it has radiated 
all that is best and most permanent in the university which bears his 
name. 

2. THE CORPORATE NAME. 

The name Cornell University was adopted almost in opposition to 
the wishes of Mr. Cornell. He had expected to call the new institu- 
tion the "Ithaca State College," or something similar. It was only 
after Mr. White had pointed out, by reference to Harvard, Yale, Dart- 
mouth, Amherst, Bowdoin, Brown, Williams, and the like, that the 
usage was in favor of naming a college after its chief benefactor that 
he finally yielded.^ 

The enemies of the university had charged that Mr. Cornell wished 
to " erect a monument to himself." They probably caught up the 
phrase from a letter of Edwin B. Morgan, which, after speaking of 
the munificence of Mr. Cornell's gift and the humiliation of his hav- 
ing to stand all winter beseeching the people's representatives to 
grant him the privilege of paying a half million of dollars for the peo- 
ple's good, concludes as follows: 

Few men have proposed to build themselves such a monument even in their " last 
will and testament;" a far less number have done so while living. Peter Coopers 
and Ezra Cornells are rare.^ 

1 Pp. 8-9. 

2 My Reminiscences of Ezra Cornell, etc. , p. 8. 

^The bill to incorporate the Cornell University was introduced February 7, 1865. 
Mr. Morgan's letter bears date February 27. 1865. Yet Horace Greeley, in a letter 
to Mr. White, written February 20, 1865, speaks of the proposed school as the 
"Ithaca College." Pamphlet headed " The Cornell University." N. D. [1865J. 



330 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

This phrase, intended in a sense altogether complimentary, was per- 
verted by the enemies of the university into a term of reproach. 

Nobody will now question the entire propriety of the name which the 
university bears. The university, undoubtedly, owed its existence to 
Mr. Cornell's noble generosity. Its subsequent material prosperity 
was no less the result of his sagacity and devotion. He did, indeed, 
build a monument to himself, but he built it, not for his own glory, but 
for the perpetual service of mankind. Into that service it bears his 
honored name, the name of a true and genuine and noble man, who, 
coming from the people, remained to his last day in sympathetic 
touch with all their needs and struggles and aspirations. 

3. THE LOCATION OF THE UNIVERSITY. 

The location of the university at Ithaca was a concession to Mr. 
Cornell. Many of the friends of the university felt that it was a seri- 
ous mistake to place it so far from the great lines of travel, and Mr. 
White offered to add a large sum to its endowment if Mr. Cornell 
would consent to have it built at Syracuse. ^ But as Mr. Cornell was 
anxious to have it situated at Ithaca, and promised to do as well by it 
as Mr. White would do, his wishes naturally prevailed. He cared 
nothing for the name of the university, but he loved the noble hills 
and quiet valley, the bold ravines and broad lake, where for more 
than a quarter of a century he had wrought with honest toil and with 
merited success, and he wished this best and crowning work of his 
life to rise upon those hills above lake and town and flashing cataract 
the pride and glory of them all. And so Ithaca became the seat of 
Cornell University. 

4. GENERAL PROVISIONS OP THE CHARTER. 

The charter'^ creates a body corporate, to be known as Cornell Uni- 
versity, and fixes the location of such university at Ithaca. 

The leading object of the corporation is to teach such branches of 
learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts, includ- 
ing military tactics, but such other branches of science and knowl- 
edge may be taught as the trustees may deem useful and proper. 

The farm and grounds must consist of not less than 200 acres. Two 
years, from the passage of the act, are granted the trustees within 
which to provide suitable buildings and equipment. 

A system of free scholarships is provided for, whereby the university 

' MS. in possession of Mr. White. Mr. White at that time lived in Syracuse and 
represented the Onondaga (then the Twenty-second) district in the senate. Mr. 
Cornell lived at Ithaca and represented the Twenty-fourth senatorial district, 
of which Tompkins County was a part. 

'^Laws of New York, 1865, chap. 585. 



COENELL UNIVEKSITY. 331 

is required to receive annually one student from each assemblj^ dis- 
trict in the State free from any tuition fee or incidental charge.^ 

The university is to be absolutely nonsectarian. Two provisions 
fix tliis beyond all question. The first relates to the trustees, and 
provides that "at no time shall a majority of the board be of one reli- 
gious sect, or of no religious sect. " The second relates to faculty and 
students and declares that "persons of every religious denomination, 
or of no religious denomination, shall be equally eligible to all offices 
and appointments. " 

The limit of the capacity of the university to hold real and personal 
property is fixed at 13,000,000. This provision, inserted in uncon- 
scious deference to the ancient statutes of mortmain, proved even- 
tually a costly mistake, as it stood in the waj^ of the university's 
receiving upward of a million and a half of dollars, bequeathed it 
by Mrs. Jennie McGraw Fiske. The section has since been amended, 
so that there is now no limit, save that of its own needs, to the capac- 
ity of the university to hold property, real or personal.^ 

5. THE TRUSTEES. 

In the original charter the number of trustees is fixed at twenty-four, 
seven of whom are trustees ex officio. The trustees named by the 
charter were Ezra Cornell, William Kelly, Horace Greeley, Josiah B. 
Williams, William Andrus, John McGraw, George W. Schuyler, Hiram 
Sibley, J. Meredith Read, and John M. Parker. These ten trustees 
were empowered to select seven others to act with them. The ex officio 
trustees are the governor, the lieutenant-governor, the speaker of the 
assembly, the superintendent of public instruction, the president of 
the State Agricultural Society, the librarian of the Cornell (Ithaca 
Public) Library, and the eldest male lineal descendant of Ezra Cornell. 
The first board was completed by the election of the following addi- 
tional members: Andrew D. White, Charles J. Folger, Abram B, 
Weaver, George H. Andrews, Edwin B. Morgan, Edwin D. Morgan, 
and Erastus Brooks. 

' The provisions for the selection of free students have been three times amended 
since the passage of the charter. (Laws of New York, 1872, chap. 654; Ih. 1886, chap. 
614; 7b. 1887, chap. 219.) By the terms of the last amendment the scholarships 
are awarded upon a competitive examination, in which competitors must be at 
least 16 years of age and of six months" standing in the common schools or acade- 
mies of the State during the year immediately preceding the examinations. Exami- 
nations are held in each county and the results certified to tlie department of pub- 
lic instruction, which also prepares the examination questions upon subjects 
designated by the president of the university. When a scholarship is unclaimed 
in any county it may be filled by the State superintendent from among those first 
entitled to a vacancy in some other county. At that time the number of assem- 
bly districts was 128, but by the revised constitution, which went into effect Jan- 
uary 1. 1895, the number is increased to 150. 

•Laws of New York, 1882, chap. 147. 



332 HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

By a subsequent amendment to the charter the number of elective 
trustees was reduced to fifteen. This was effected by making Ezra 
Cornell a life member, and the president of the university, to which 
position Andrew T>. White had then been elected, a member ex officio.^ 
At the same time the term of office of the elective trustees was fixed 
at five years, three members to be elected each year. The amend- 
ment also provides that when the number of alumni shall reach 100, 
45 of them may, by a majority vote, elect annually one of the three 
incoming trustees. 

By a subsequent amendment in 1895,^ the number of elective trus- 
tees is raised to thirty, twenty of whom are to be elected by the board 
and ten by the alumni, the board to elect four each year and the 
alumni two. Elective trustees serve for a period of five years each. 
This, with the trustees ex officio,^ makes the number of the present 
board after June, 1895, thirty-nine. 

The novelty and importance of the provision as to alumni repre- 
sentation have been demonstrated in the interest attaching to the 
elections. But the difficulty of gathering a large body of electors 
from widely separated points gave eventually a somewhat local char- 
acter to the election and wrought an injustice to those living at a 
distance. This was obviated by another amendment permitting 
alumni to send their ballots, under their signatures, to the treasurer of 
the university nd to have them counted as if personally cast.* Con- 
cert of a 3tion in such elections is secured by a provision whereby any 
ten alumni may file a nomination for alumni trustee with the treas- 
urer, whose duty it is to mail a complete list of candidates to each 
alumnus. Much interest has always been taken in these elections by 
the alumni, and in some years, when questions of university policy 
have been involved, campaigns have been conducted with the great- 
est vigor by well-organized committees. In the early years the alumni 
chose a representative from outside their own body, but of late their 
choice has invariably fallen upon graduates of the university, and it 
is doubtful whether any others will hereafter be chosen by them. 
The plan, the credit for which is due to Mr. White, has worked 
extremely well, both as regards the interest it serves to keep alive 
among graduates and the character of the men who are elected to the 
board. The board has also begun the practice of electing alumni as 
trustees, and with the increase in the alumni body and their growing 
importance in university affairs, it is altogether probable that Cornell, 
like the older colleges, will eventually pass largely under the manage- 
ment of her own sons.^ 

1 Laws of New York, 1867, chap. 763. 

■^Ibicl., 1895. chap. 87. 

^ The State commissioner of agriculture was added to the ex officio list. 

■iLaws of New York, 1883, chap. 423, as amended by L. 1895, chap. 87. 

•'' Five of the twenty trustees elected by the board are now Cornell alumni. 



COENELL UNIVERSITY. 833 

E. The Origin of the Idea of Cornell. 

To Ezra Cornell belongs the honor of being the founder of Cornell 
University. Even before the conception of such an institution had 
taken form in his mind he had fully determined to devote a half 
million of dollars to the benefit of the people of New York State. ^ 
When he realized the Immense advantages to be gained by uniting 
this endowment with the land-grant fund, and came to see the futility 
of division and the wisdom of concentration of resources in higher 
education, his purpose was quickly formed. From that purpose, 
thereafter unchanged, came into being the university that bears his 
name. 

To Andrew D. White, his faithful friend and coworker, belongs the 
equal honor of having first conceived the idea of such a university. 
Of this, happily, there is ample evidence. 

While still a student in a small denominational college in central 
New York, Mr. White had begun to think of the needs of New York 
in respect of higher education. With his larger experience at Yale 
College and in the great universities of Europe, the idea had strength- 
ened that in New York there should be a university, broad enough to 
meet all the needs of the Empire State and of this nineteenth century. 
On his return from Europe he took positive steps toward the accom- 
plishment of his cherished plan. Several wealthy men, notably the 
well-known philanthropist, Gerrit Smith, were approached by him on 
the subject and a definite offer was made by Mr. White of a generous 
share of his own fortune for such a purpose, but nothing tangible 
resulted from these efforts.^ 

The most remarkable testimony as to the early ideas of Mr. White 
on this subject is borne by George William Curtis, long a regent and 
afterwards chancellor of the University of the State of New York. In 
his address at the inaugural ceremonies of Cornell University. Mr. 
Curtis said : 

It is now just about ten years since I was in the city of Ann Arbor, Mich., the 
seat of the University of Michigan. ... I was in that city and I sat at night 
talking with my friend, a New York scholar, professor of history in that institu- 
tion, and one of the men who have given that institution its great place in this 
country. There, in the warmth and confidence of his friendship, he unfolded to 
me his idea of the great work that should be done in the great State of New York. 
" Surety," he said, " in the greatest State there should be the greatest of univer- 
sities; in central New York there should arise a university, which, by the ampli- 
tude of its endowment and by the whole scope of its intended sphere, by the 
character of the studies in the whole scope of its curriculum, should satisfy the 
wfints of the hour. More than that," he said, "it should begin at the beginning. 
It should take hold of the chief interest of this country, which is agriculture; then 
it should rise, step by step, grade by grade, until it fulfilled the highest ideal of 
what a university could be." It was also his intention that there should be no^ 

' ^ White: My Reminiscences of Ezra Cornell, p. 7. 
2 xbid, pp. 5, 6. 



334 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

man. wherever he might be, on the other side of the ocean or on this side, who 
might be a fitting teacher of men, who should not be drawn within the sphere of 
that university. Until the hour was late this young scholar dreamed aloud to me 
these dreams; and at the close, at our parting, our consolation was that we lived 
in a country that was open to every generous idea, and that his dream one day 
might be realized was still a possibility. 

Ten years ago — and why are we here? Why am I speaking to you? What is 
this building that we see? What are these bells we hear? What are these chimes, 
whose musical echo lingers and will always linger in your hearts? Why, on this 
autumn day, when every crop is in its perfection, when all the sweet blossoms of 
your orchards are now glowing in gorgeous piles of fruit, all the grain dropped 
by yoti in the furrows is now piled and to be piled in the granaries of the world; 
wh}^ in this spot, on this autumn day, the vision of the New York scholar has 
come true. Here in noble stone, here scattered through this village of yours, here 
upon these everlasting hills, founded now, and with these hills to endure, more 
wonderful than the palace of Aladdin, you behold, you realize the dream of the 
scholar of the Michigan University, your honored president, Andrew D. White. ' 

Thus was conceived, thus born, Cornell University. What the 
brain of the scholar planned, the heart of the philanthropist builded. 
New York has her great university — broad enough for the needs of 
all her people, high enough for the aspirations of her most ambitious 
sons — and for it she owes her meed of praise most of all to two men — 
Ezra Cornell and Andrew D. White. 

III. 

THE BUILDING OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY. 
A. Preliminary Matters— Site and Buildings. 

After the passage of the charter the trustees were obliged to remain 
inactive for three months, during which time the People's College, 
by depositing the sum fixed by the regents, might defeat the land 
grant to Cornell. The sum fixed by the regents was $185,000. On the 
28th of August, 1865, the secretary of the regents certified that no 
such deposit had been made, and, as the time limited had then more 
than expired, there could be no further claim on the part of the 
People's College. Cornell University was entitled henceforth to undis- 
puted possession of the great endowment. 

The first meeting of the trustees had been held at Albany on the 
day following the passage of the charter, at w^hich time the board had 
been filled by the election of additional members, and the grant of 
the land scrip had been formally accepted.^ 

The second meeting was held at Ithaca on September 5. At this 
time Mr. Cornell agreed to execute his bond for the sum of $500,000, 
bearing interest at 7 per cent, and secure the same by capital stock 
of the Western Union Telegraph Company to the amount of $700,000. 

' Proceedings at the inauguration of Cornell University. (Ithaca, 1869.) pp. 33, 34. 
-Laws and Documents Relating to Cornell University (Ithaca, 1892), pp. 33-35. 



CORNELL UNIVERSITY. 335 

This arrangement was accepted by the trustees and was afterwards 
carried ol^t.^ At the same time lie paid $25,000 to the Genesee Col- 
lege; and both transactions were certified by the comptroller of the 
State as correct and satisfactory. 

The matter of a site for the university Mr. Goruell solved in a very 
characteristic way by giving, in addition to his pledge, a tract of over 
200 acres of land upon an eminence overlooking Cayuga Lake and 
the village (now city) of Ithaca from the east. It had passed into a 
saying among his fellow-townsmen that " he never did less than he 
promised, but generally more." This tract was increased by subse- 
quent purchases until the university domain now comprises about 
270 acres. 

Work now began in earnest. The structure now known as Morrill 
Hall — but then and up to 1883, as the " South University building" — 
was begun, and necessary improvements of what was to be the cam- 
pus went on as rapidly as possible. But it soon became evident that, 
owing to the delay which had taken place, the university could not 
be ready for the reception of students within the two years prescribed 
by the charter. An amendment was therefore secured from the legis- 
lature of 1867 extending the time for the fulfillment of the conditions 
of the grant to the 1st of October, 1868.^ Even this extension was 
not sufficient for the completion of the necessary work. In addition 
to the South University building, the Cascadilla building originally 
intended for a water cure, was refitted for university jjurposes. When 
the inaugural day came, neither of these buildings was finished, nor 
was the work upon the campus completed. There were no doors upon 
the students' rooms, no heating apparatus, no bridges across the 
ravines on the campus, while the entire equipment for laboratories 
and shops ^i> as stored without order in whatever spot would give it 
shelter and security.^ 

Aside from the two buildings named, there was erected just south 
of the South University building a temporary campanile, in which 
was hung a chime of nine bells, the gift of Miss Jennie McGraw."* 

This was the material appearance of Cornell University when it 
began its work in October, 1868. Between Cascadilla place and the 

^Laws and Documents Relating to Cornell University (Ithaca, 1892), pp. 35-37. 
Mr. Cornell had made his fortune largely in telegraph enterprises, in which he was 
a pioneer, and was one of the originators of the Western Union Telegraph Company. 

-Laws of New York. 1867, chap. 763. 

^Andrew D. White: My Reminiscences of Ezra Cornell, p, 19. 

'* Afterwards hung in the tower of McGrraw Hall and now finally placed in the 
tower of the library. A tenth bell was added by Mrs. White, and is called in her 
honor the Magna Maria. ~ For it James Russell Lowell wrote this fine inscription: 

I call as fly the irrevocable hours, 

Futile as air or strong as fate to make 
Your lives of sand or granite; awful powers. 

Even as men choose, they either give or take. 

— Heartsease and Rue, p. 216. 



336 HISTOEY OF HIGHEK EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

South University building were two deep ravines — the Cascadilla 
Gorge and a lesser one. About the South building was a rough and 
broken field which had been hastily transformed from a cornfield 
into a campus. All was crude and unfinisbed. But in that "box in 
a cornfield," as it was not inaptly called, there was to begin a novel 
experiment in education, an experiment which drew at once the 
attention of the whole country and which has succeeded beyond the 
fondest expectations of its authors. 

B. The Plan of Organization. 

At { n early meeting of the trustees Mr. White had been appointed 
upon a special committee to prepare a report upon the internal organ- 
ization of the university. On October 21, 1866, his report was pre- 
sented to the board. ^ 

The report opens with a discussion of the question whether, under 
the act of Congress and the charter of the university, the trustees 
would be justified in providing for instruction in departments foreign 
to agriculture and the mechanic arts. Of their power to do so there 
could be no question. The act of Congress of 1862 uses the language 
"without excluding other scientific and classical studies," and 
declares the object of the donation to be "to promote the liberal and 
practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits 
and professions in life." The charter is equally broad. After spe- 
cifically naming agriculture and the mechanic arts as the leading and 
required studies, it adds : ' ' But such other branches of science and 
knowledge may be embraced in the plan of instruction and investi- 
gation pertaining to the university as the trustees may deem useful 
and proper." Of the propriety of thus extending the scope of the 
university Mr. White had no doubt. His plan of organization 
argued for it and provided for it. 

His plan was to have two great divisions of the university, the first 
to include separate departments devoted to special sciences and arts 
and the second literature and the sciences and arts in general. Under 
the first division were to fall agriculture, mechanic arts, civil engineer- 
ing, commerce and trade, mining, medicine, law, history and political 
science, and education. Not all of these courses were recommended 
at the outset ; not all are yet established ; some, like commerce and 
trade, may never be established. Those that were particularly recom- 
mended, and that have since reached the greatest development, are 
agriculture, mechanic arts, civil engineering, and history and political 
science. Upon the last the report is especially urgent, and the views 
then expressed have continued to retain their hold upon the trustees 
and faculty and have finally blossomed into the strong and admirably 
equipped "President White School of History and Political Science." 



' Report of the Committee on Organization. Albany, 1867. 



COENELL UNIVERSITY. 337 

The report also recommends in the general courses a wide liberty 
in the choice of studies— Greek and Latin for those who have the taste 
and time for them, but literature, history, modern languages, and 
science for those whose tastes lie in other directions. Mental discipline 
is to be sought, not merely in those studies that promote keenness 
and precision of mind, but also in those that promote breadth of mind. 
"In American life there will always be enough keenness and sharp- 
ness of mind. But the danger is that there will be neglect of those 
noble studies which enlarge the mental horizon and increase mental 
powers in reaching out toward it, studies which give material for 
thought and suggestions for thought upon the great field of the history 
of civilization. " ^ 

The report recommends the division of the faculty into resident 
professors and nonresident professors, the latter to give brief courses 
of lectures each year. 

Upon the question of administration, Mr. White strongly recom- 
mended that the then prevailing system under which the president 
of a college or university decides all matters of government and policy 
be replaced by one in which the faculty at large should be intrusted 
with this power ; that each department, with its separate faculty, be 
authorized to govern matters pertaining particularly to it; and that 
the combined faculty of the whole university constitute an academic 
senate, in which every teacher in the university should be permitted 
to speak, but only the professors or heads of departments to vote. 
This plan, with some modifications, was adopted, the general faculty 
having committed to its charge most questions of internal adminis- 
tration and discipline. Later an academic senate consisting only of 
full professors was for a time added, but during President White's 
entire administration professors of all grades sat in the faculty meet- 
ings and took part in its deliberations.^ 

The report has further recommendations upon equipment, library, 
discipline, etc., which need not here be considered, while the matters 
pertaining to manual labor, physical culture, and the dormitory system 
will be treated hereafter. 

The whole tone and spirit of the report can not but be regarded as 
broad, progressive, and in some features unique. The idea of gath- 

1 Report of the Committee on Organization, Albany, 1867, p. 10. 

^By legislation passed in 1897 the university is divided into the graduate depart- 
ment, the academic department (or department of arts and sciences), the college 
of law, the college of civil engineering, the Sibley college of mechanical engineer- 
ing and mechanic arts, the college of architecture, the college of agriculture, and 
the New York State Veterinary College, to which have subsequently been added 
the medical college and the New York State College of Forestry. There are nine 
special faculties and one general or university faculty, which deals with questions 
of general university policy, or questions which concern more than one special 
faculty, and which has charge of the graduate department. 
3176 22 



338 HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN" NEW YOEK. 

ering in the same class rooms the students of agriculture and of 
Greek, of mechanical or civil engineering and of literature, was a bold 
one, and the experience of some older colleges in which scientific 
students were, and still are, excluded from the social life of the 
academic students seemed to augur but ill for its success. But the 
foundation idea of Cornell University was thoroughly democratic, 
and the men who molded its history had no sympathy whatever with 
the worn-out traditions of academic life. They deemed it equally 
honorable to build philosophies or steam engines, to turn out a neat 
translation or to turn a straight furrow, to frame a law or build a 
bridge. They were determined that the students who came to Cornell 
should take a like view so far as daily experience would induce it. 
This feeling found its most advanced exponent in Mr. White and its 
highest expression in this report and his subsequent inaugural address. 

C. The Choice op a President. 

A year and a half had passed in this preliminary work and as yet 
no one had been selected to preside over the destinies of the nascent 
university. The matter had been broached from time to time ; several 
names had been presented for consideration ; but there had been no 
open discussion of Mr. White's name, nor had he ever had the slight- 
est thought that it was under consideration for this position. It was 
therefore a genuine surprise to him when Mr. Cornell, at the meeting 
of the trustees succeeding that to which the report on organization 
had been presented, named him as the fittest person for president of 
the new universit5^ In the face of Mr. White's own protests that 
there was need of a man of greater age, more robust health, and wider 
reputation, the trustees earnestly seconded Mr. Cornell and declared 
their young colleague to be their first and unanimous choice. Mr. 
White at last reluctantly consented to undertake the duties for a 
time, and with many misgivings, as he himself has said, became the 
first president of Cornell iTniversity.^ 

There were many reasons why this position should not have 
appeared very attractive to Mr. White. He was just entering upon 
what promised to be a brilliant political career. Large business 
interests demanded his attention. His taste for academic life was 
sufficiently gratified by his work at the University of Michigan, where 
he held the position of j)rofessor of history and where he was in the 
habit of lecturing every spring. He had, moreover, just been elected 
director of the art school and lecturer on the history of art at Yale 
College, a positition which, if he decided to return to educational 
work, would have best suited him. In addition to all this, abundant 
wealth gave him an opportunity to pursue his favorite studies on 
either side of the Atlantic unhampered by the burdens of a young and 
struggling university. 



1 White: My Reminiscences, etc., p. 16. He was elected on October 24, 1866. 



COENELL UNIVEESITY. 339 

Two considerations doubtless led him finally to accept the trust. 
The first was the opportunity it offered for him to build on his own 
lines the great school of his early dreams. The other was the firm 
faith of Mr. Cornell in his fitness to carry out the far-reaching plans 
upon which they were jointly agreed. For these reasons he undertook 
the arduous duties of a first president. Yet there was even then only 
the purpose to get the university fairly started and then aid in the 
selection of a man who should carry it on in the spirit of its founders. 
But having once undertaken the work he did not find it so easy to 
lay it down, and for nineteen years he remained the president and 
the guiding force of Cornell Universit3^ 

D. The Selection of a Faculty. 

The first faculty of Cornell consisted of twenty resident and five non- 
resident professors. This includes all the men who had been selected 
before the opening of the university, and in the case of nonresident 
professors some who were elected during the first year. The follow- 
ing list will show with what degree of success the ideas set forth in 
the report on organization were realized : 

Professors. — Andrew Dickson White, ^ history; William Channing 
Russel,^ history and romance languages; William Dexter Wilson,^ 
philosophy; Evan Wilhelm Evans, ^ mathematics; Albert Sproul 
Wheeler, ancient languages; Daniel Willard Fiske, Germanic lan- 
guages; Homer B. Sprague, rhetoric and oratory; Eli Whitney Blake,^ 
physics and industrial mechanics; William Charles Cleveland,^ civil 
engineering; John Lewis Morris,^ mechanical engineering; George 
Chapman Caldwell,* agricultural chemistry; James Mason Crafts? 
general chemistry; Burt Green Wilder,* comparative anatomy and 
zoology; James Law,* veterinary medicine and surgery; Charles 
Frederick Hartt,^ geology; Albert N. Prentiss,^ botany; Joseph H. 
Whittlesey,^ militarj^ science and tactics. 

Assistant professors. — Ziba Hazard Potter, mathematics; James 
Morgan Hart,^ modern languages; Thomas Frederick Crane,* romance 
languages. 

Nonresident professors.— J enn Louis Rodolphe Agassiz,^ natural 
history; Goldwin Smith,'' English constitutional history; James Rus- 
sell Lowell,^ English literature; George William Curtis,^ recent liter- 
ature; Theodore William D wight, ^ Constitution of the United States. 

The theory upon whi<jh this faculty was chosen is sufficiently set 
forth in the " Report on organization." It was briefiy that the great 

' Still lectures occasionally. 

^Deceased. 

^ Now emeritus professor; during his entire service was registrar. 

* Still in service. 

5 Resigned in 1873; elected in 1890 professor of rhetoric and English philology. 

^ Emeritus. 



340 HISTORY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

teacliers could not be tempted to leave permanently their positions at 
the older colleges; that the middle-aged men who had attained but an 
indifferent success were not likely to aid materially in the rough work 
of the formative period of the university, and that, therefore, the 
wisest course was to select young men after careful and confidential 
consultation with eminent educators throughout the country, and to 
bring to the university for short courses of lectures some of the most 
successful and inspiring teachers in various departments. President 
White has told how this plan was carried out: 

As to the choice of the younger men for the resident professorships, I consulted, 
first of all, Agassiz, and there comes back to me very vividly the remembrance 
especially of a beautiful day at Nahant, when he discussed men and measures very 
fully with me almost from morning until evening. To the various scientific pro- 
fessorships I nominated mainly men he recommended, and every one of them 
turned out most successfully. I utterly refused, in any case, to allow mere paper 
recommendations presented by candidates to have any influence upon my mind. 
Nothing weighed with me except confidential communications from trustworthy 
judges, and in every case I insisted on seeing and talking with the candidate 
before seriously considering his name. In this way was secured what I still think 
was one of the most energetic and capable bodies of instructors in this or any 
other country.' 

The policy thus begun has, in the main, continued to prevail at 
Cornell, although in late years the university has been able to offer 
inducements which, all things considered, are nearly if not quite as 
great as those offered by the most favored of the older colleges. The 
faculty at the end of the academic year 1897-98 consisted of fifty-one 
professors, seven associate professors, twenty-five assistant professors, 
two lecturers, fifty-seven instructors, and fifty-four assistants, and a 
large number of nonresident lecturers. This does not include the 
professors in the medical college and college of forestry, whose work 
began in the fall of 1898. The medical faculty adds twenty-six pro- 
fessors, twenty-one instructors, and eighteen assistants to the list. 

The same policy also continues in the selection of nonresident lec- 
turers. Among those who have been called for courses of lectures 
are such men as Bayard Taylor, James Anthony Froude, Edward A. 
Freeman, George Washington Greene, Felix Adler, Hermann von 
Hoist, John Fiske, Charles Dudley Warner, Daniel H. Chamberlain, 
Richard T. Ely, Francis M. Finch, Merrill E. Gates, Ira Remsen, 
Francis A. Walker, Edward Atkinson, and scores of others. The 
interest and enthusiasm aroused by the daily work of young profess- 
ors, whose world is still before them, has been happily supplemented 
by the inspiration caught from lecturers whose work is largely done 
and whose standing and reputation are made. 

^ Unpublished MS. in possession of Andrew D. White. 



COENELL UNIVEESITY. 341 

E. President White's Work in Europe. 

The prelimiuary work at Ithaca having been thus laid out, Presi- 
dent White spent several months in Europe in the interest of the uni- 
versity. His main purpose was to study the organization and details 
of the leading technical schools and to gather such apparatus and 
equipment as seemed indispensable at the outset. A secondary pur- 
pose was to purchase books for the beginnings of a library and to see 
what could be done by way of interesting certain eminent European 
scholars in the course of nonresident lectures. 

As a result of his main purpose a large collection of choice apparatus 
was sent to the university from various points in Europe. The extent 
and value of it were largely due to the unfailing generositj^ of Mr. 
Cornell, who, Avhen the limit of means seemed to be reached in advance 
of the limits of necessity, invariably directed the purchase of the addi- 
tional material. ^ In this way it happened that the university from 
the first had an unusually excellent equipment in the technical and 
scientific departments. In succeeding years this grew into propor- 
tions which, taking all departments together, may fairly be termed 
unsurpassed on this continent. 

The purchase of books was also liberal, considering the means then 
actually at the disposal of the trustees. When the university opened 
there were about 12,000 volumes in the library, all selected with 
special reference to the immediate needs of professors and students. 

But the best result of Mr. White's work in Europe was not in select- 
ing apparatus and books, but in interesting in the new educational 
experiment two men who have contributed largely to its success. 

For the faculty I secured Goldwin Smith to take the chair of English history, 
and James Law, who has since become so eminent in his department, to take the 
professorship of veterinary medicine and surgery in the agricultural college. 
Both of these selections were especially fortunate. The great services of Dr. Law 
to the university and to the country I need not dwell upon. It is not too much to 
say that he has, during his career at Cornell University, prevented the loss of 
hundreds of millions of dollars from the cattle plague, to say nothing of the great 
benefits he has conferred as a professor. As to the work of Goldwin Smith, his 
influence for good can hardly be overestimated. His lectures upon English his- 
tory gave a great impulse to historical studies among the students and added much 
to the character and standing of the university in the country at large, while his 
quiet, scholarly influence was felt for good by the whole university body.^ 

Nothing, perhaps, better illustrates the intended scope and breadth 
of the university then building than the selection in England of these 
two eminent teachers in fields so widely different. And the acceptance 
by them of professorships in a university not yet organized is a tribute 
alike to their devotion and to the enthusiasm and courage of Cornell's 
youthful president. Goldwin Smith was then professor of history at 

^ White: My Reminiscences of Ezra Cornell, etc., p. 18. 

^ President White in an unpublished MS. Also Reminiscences of Ezra Cornell, 
p. 18. 



342 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

the University of Oxford and Dr. Law was an acknowledged authority 
in veterinary science at the College of London ; yet both were induced 
to leave these great English schools and cast in their lot with the 
promoters of a new and untried experiment across the Atlantic. Their 
continued active interest in the university is a sufficient proof of their 
satisfaction with the outcome of their decision at that time, while the 
high esteem in which they are held by all friends of the university 
and by the country at large is in some degree a testimonial to their 
labors in behalf of the ' ' new education. " 

IV. 

THE OPENING OF THE UNIVERSITY. 
A. The Formal Opeking of the University. 

The university was formally opened on Wednesday, October 7, 1868. 
The day could not but have seemed auspicious to those who had 
labored for the success of the new educational experiment. It was a 
perfect Indian summer, with all its soft lights and golden haze and 
rich foliage, clothing a landscape which for variety and picturesque- 
ness is unsurpassed by the site of any other university in the world. 
To this scene had gathered a great crowd from all parts of the State 
and nation, among them men eminent in every field, drawn thither by 
a deep interest in what then seemed a unique experiment in education. 
Even Agassiz left his vast laboratories in the Rocky Mountains and 
appeared, as he then said, "without having had time to shake from 
his feet the dust of a journey of 6,000 miles." Lieutenant-Governor 
Stewart L. Woodford, then and now a trustee and warm friend of the 
university; the Hon. John V. L. Pruyn, chancellor of the University 
of the State of New York, and the Hon. Abram B. Weaver, State 
superintendent of public instruction, were present as representatives 
of the State, ^ while such men as Louis Agassiz, George William Cur- 
tis, and Erastus Brooks fairly represented the advanced sentiment of 
the people in their respective fields. 

The two men to whose efforts was chiefly due this assembly of peo- 
ple for such a purpose had to be taken from their beds and carried to 
the inaugural ceremonies. Mr. Cornell was too ill to stand during 
the delivery of his opening address, while President White found it 
difficult at times to support himself at the desk. These two addresses 
embodied the whole spirit and purpose of the new university. Mr. 

' Some who were expected were not present. The governor of the State, though 
he had been in Ithaca the day before, quietly left town on the eve of the opening 
exercises. His excellency was a very wise man in his day and generation, and 
evidently felt that it was not best for him to have too much to do with an insti- 
tution which the sectarian press had so generally condemned. I shall uot soon 
forget the way in which Mr. Cornell broke the news to me, and the accent of calm 
contempt in his voice." (White: My Reminiscences of Ezra Cornell, p. 28.) 



CORNELL UNIVERSITY. 343 

Coruell's words, "I liope we have laid the foundation of an institution 
which shall combine j)ractical with liberal education, which shall fit 
the j^outh of our country for the professions, the farms, the mines, 
the manufactories, for the investigations of science, and for master- 
ing all the practical questions of life with success and honor," ^ con- 
tain as succinct a statement of the guiding principle of Cornell Uni- 
versity as can be found, and are as terse a statement of his own pur- 
poses as exists, save his famous phrase, adopted as the motto of the 
university : "I would found an institution where any person can find 
instruction in any study. "^ 

Mr. White's address dealt at large with these foundation ideas, and 
elaborated the formative and governmental ideas which should rest 
upon them. It pledged the university to a policy which should unite 
liberal and practical education and should establish a perfect equality 
among widely differing courses of study. It pledged it to a policy of 
unsectarian education, to a true and courageous study of science, to 
a firm adherence to truth. It declared war upon pedantry and Philis- 
tinism. It appealed to the sober judgment and sound sense of 
thinking men "in the greatest time and land the world has yet 
known," and invoked for the work then begun their approval and the 
blessing of God. 

Addresses were also delivered during the exercises of the day by 
Prof. William Channing Russell, who, until his retirement in 1881, 
was vice-president of the university and a trusted and valuable coun- 
selor of the president; by Stewart L. Woodford, lieutenant-governor 
of the State; by John V. L. Pruyn, chancellor of the University of the 
State of New York, of which Cornell University was a part; bj^Erastus 
Brooks, who continued to be a faithful member of the board of trustees 
until his death, in 1886; by Francis M. Finch, then an ex-officio trus- 
tee of the university, later a justice of court of appeals of the State 
of New York, and now dean of the College of Law; by Abram B. 
Weaver, State superintendent of public instruction; by Professor 
Agassiz, and by George William Curtis. In the closing words of Mr. 
Curtis, "the hour had come when this institution was to pass under 
those influences which perform their daily services in our lives." 

The discussions of the "new education," as it was taking form at 
Cornell, had resulted in the presence at the opening of the university 
of the largest class that had ever entered any college in this country. 
Over 400 students pressed for admission. "It was," says President 
White, "an interesting mass of humanity. Probably no body of 
students of equal size ever contained more talent, and even genius. 
That it was, in general, well-regulated talent is seen by the fact that 
so many of those youths have since attained worthy success; but 

' Proceedings at the inauguration, p. 4. 

^ This phrase was uttered by Mr. Cornell in a conversation with Mr. White con- 
cerning the features of the charter. (Reminiscences of Ezra Cornell, p. 9.) 



344 HISTORY OF HIGHEK EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

there were also a considerable number of ill-regulated geniuses, 
attracted by the novelty of the plan and by the hope of accomj)lish- 
ing unheard-of results without much outlay of intellectual effort on 
their part, " ^ 

With this great body of students, with a corps of able and enthusi- 
astic professors, with all yet crude, cramped, and but roughly organ- 
ized, Cornell Universitj^ began its work. Laboratories and workshops 
were elbowing coal bins and ash rooms in the basement of Morrill 
Hall; lecture rooms were overcrowded; professors were overworked, 
and trustees were harassed by the pressing questions of greater 
space, fuller equipment, and larger faculty. But hopes were high 
and hearts courageous, while dominating all was the serene and 
untroubled faith of the founder. 

B. The First Year. 

The register for 1868-69 shows that there were 17 resident profess- 
ors, 4 assistant professors, 7 nonresident professors, and 5 instructors 
and assistants. There are 412 students named in the catalogue (though 
the books of the registrar show 414 matriculates). The tuition fee 
was 130 a year. Courses of study were science, philosophy, arts; 
"elective," which are stated to be "intended to give to the student 
full and entire freedom in the selection of his studies — a freedom 
every way equal to that which prevails in the universities of conti- 
nental Europe; " and "special," under which are included agriculture, 
mechanic arts, civil engineering, physics and chemistry, history and 
political science, etc. The faculty is divided into "colleges," with a 
dean presiding over each college group. The colleges named are 
agriculture, chemistry and physics, history and political science, 
languages, literature and philosophj^, mathematics and engineering, 
mechanic arts, military science, and natural science. 

The actual interest-bearing endowment at this time consisted of 
$328,000 in the land-scrip fund and $525,000 turned over by Mr. 
Cornell. During this year Mr. McGraw gave $50,000 for the erection 
of the building which bears his name. The income for the year could 
not have been more than $70,000. 

In an address at the quarter-century celebration in 1893 Professor 
Caldwell gives a picture of the conditions existing during the first 
year: 

Rickety barns and slovenly barnyards offended the senses where the extension 
to Sibley College is now going up; the second university building, now called 
White Hall, simply protruded out of an excavation, the top of which reached 
nearly to the second-story windows at one end. The ventilation of the chemical 
laboratory, in the basement of Morrill Hall, was partly into the library and 
reading room above it. An ancient Virginia rail fence traversed the site of this 
building [the present library] and its neighbor, Boardman Hall. . . . Bridges, 



Unpublished MS. in possession of President White. 



CORNELL UmVEESITY. 345 

sidewalks, and even a road between the one university building and Cascadilla, 
the one liome where almost everybody connected with the university lived, either 
did not exist at all or were only partially completed. 

Some of the inconveniences to which the early professors and stu- 
dents were put may be gathered from entries in the daily memoran- 
dum book of the business manager, W. A. Woodward. Under date 
of October 10, 1868, we read: 

Examined the road from Cascadilla Place to University Building in company 
with Professors Cleveland, Prentiss, and Morris, and Major Whittlesey. Report 
the bridge unsafe and propose to set some students at work on Monday, the 12th, 
at 2 p. m. 

[October 12.] President White wishes to have ventilators in Cascadilla Place 
to carry off savors from the kitchen, 

[October 15.] Complaints are made for want of sash and lights in Cascadilla 
Building next to parlor and dining-room skylights. 

[October 16.] The flooring glass over parlor and dining room in Cascadilla 
Place is very much needed. The sink in the basement is a great necessity. 

[October 19.] Professor Morris complains that room E, his recitation room, is 
cold and uncomfortable; that he is obliged to remain there five hours at a time 
and with no fire or means of making any. 

Students complain that no water can be had at University Building: they have 
to go one-half mile for all the water they use. 

[October 22.] Major Whittlesey asks to have stoves and register through the 
floor for professor s dining room, the cost of which will be about $100. I find that 
we can save this expense by removing them down one flight of stairs to eat. 

[November.] C. says the roofs of both buildings leak badly, and that stove 
holes are not cut in some of the rooms. 

[April 20.] Mr. White wishes a bell for Prof. Gold win Smith's room to enable 
him to call servants without being obliged to hunt them up. 

[May 28.] President White requests me to pay Professor $50. Mr. 

White promises to become responsible for it. 

The work went on, however, notwithstanding these adverse condi- 
tions. At the annual commencement eight degrees were conferred, 
and the next fall there were 609 students ready to avail themselves of 
the new opportunities, of whom about one-half (293) had gone through 
the experiences of the first year. 



THE ENDOWMENTS OP CORNELL UNIVERSITY. 

A. Ezra Cornell and the Land-G-rant Endowment. 

No sketch of Cornell University would be complete without an 
account of the brilliant financial management by which Ezra Cornell 
multiplied the Federal land grant endowment tenfold. That account 
must necessarily be brief and inadequate, but it may serve to make 
in some degree clearer the great service which the founder rendered 
to the university, to the State, and to the nation. It embodies, more- 
over, an interesting chapter in the general history of the Federal land 
grant. 



346 HISTORY OF HIGHEK EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

1. MANAGEMENT OF THE GRANT BY THE STATE. 

Within three years after the passage of the land-grant act in 1862, 
nearly every Northern State, which had no public lands within its own 
borders, had received the land scrip representing its endowment under 
the terms of the act. This scrip representing many millions of acres 
was at once placed on the market, for, it will be remembered, no State 
was allowed to locate lands within the jurisdiction of a sister State. 
The country was in the midst of a civil war, which drew into its armies 
a vast body of men ; only the necessary business of the country could 
be carried on; settlers were few; land speculation was suspended; 
prairie and forest were left in their solitude to await the issue of the 
great national conflict. As, moreover, there w^as an almost unlimited 
quantity of public lands subject to entry at one dollar and a quarter 
an acre, it was obvious that this scrip must be sold at a considerable 
discount if it was to be sold at all. In fact the scrip fell at once to 
about 60 cents an acre, and even at that price did not find a ready 
market. 

New York received scrip representing 989,920 acres. Under the 
authority conferred by* the legislature the comptroller of the State 
had sold 76,000 acres for the sum of 164,440 at the time of the passage 
of the act chartering Cornell University. This sale was at about 85 
cents an acre, but in his report for 1865 the comptroller of the State 
says that ' ' the sales of the scrip have recently almost entirely ceased 
in consequence of other States reducing the price to a much lower 
rate than that at which it is held by this State. " In his report of the 
previous year he had estimated that the scrip would sell for enough 
to yield an annual income of $40,000. This seems to have been the 
highest estimate put by any one at that time on the value of the grant 
in the hands of the State. In the report for 1865 the comptroller 
recommends that the scrip be retained bj^ the State unsold until such 
time as a higher price could be obtained. 

This was the last of any direct management of the land scrip by the 
State, for at this point began the far-sighted management on the 
initiative of Mr. Cornell, which has resulted in an income, not of 
$40,000 a year, but of over $300,000 a year, with fair promise of a 
considerable increase in the future. 

3. FIRST PURCHASE OF SCRIP BY MR. CORNELL. 

In 1865, the same year in which the charter was passed, Mr. Cornell 
began his efforts for increasing the value of the land-grant endow- 
ment. From the report of the comptroller for 1866 it appears that, 
with the concurrence of the commissioners of the land office, he had 
sold in the preceding year to Mr. Cornell 100,000 acres at 50 cents an 
acre, upon the condition that all profits which should accrue from the 
sale of the land by Mr. Cornell should be paid to Cornell University. 
This sale and this agreement were made under the general powers 



COENELL UNIVERSITY. 347 

conferred upon the commissioners by the act of May 5, 1863, accept- 
ing the grant and authorizing the sale of the scrip. The sale was 
about 10 cents an acre less than the market price of the scrip at that 
time, but the agreement of Mr. Cornell to pay all the profits of his 
investment to the university was considered a fair compensation for 
the discrepancy. 

This sale left still in the hands of the comptroller scrip aggregating 
813,920 acres, while the productive funds from the sale of 176,000 
acres amounted to $114,440. 

3. LEGISLATION OF 1866. 

By an act approved April 10, 1866,^ the comptroller was authorized 
to fix the price at which he would sell the scrip remaining in his 
hands, which price should not be less than 30 cents an acre, and to 
sell the same to the trustees of Cornell University if they would agree 
to purchase it at the price fixed. In case the trustees would not pur- 
chase it, the commissioners of the land office were authorized to sell 
the scrip to any person who, under a contract satisfactory to them, 
would purchase it at the price fixed and agree to pay over to the State 
the whole net profits of the transaction. This act was evidently drawn 
with a view to the contract subsequently made with Mr. Cornell. The 
university had at the time no funds available for the purchase of the 
scrip, nor is it probable that the trustees would then have considered 
the transaction a proper or safe one for the university to undertake. 
No application was therefore made hy the trustees for the purchase 
of the scrip. It remained for Mr. Cornell to undertake unaided and 
alone the mighty task which neither the State nor the university could 
or would essay. 

t. SECOND PURCHASE BY MR. CORNELL. 

In a letter to the comptroller, dated June 9, 1866, Mr. Cornell made 
a proposition for the purchase of the whole of the scrip then unsold. 
He proposed to purchase the scrip at 30 cents an acre ; to sell the 
scrip, or locate and sell the land represented by it; from the profits 
of such sales to pay 30 cents an acre into the State treasury to be 
added to the 30 cents already paid and the sums received from pre- 
vious sales, the whole to constitute the land-scrip fund and be subject 
to all the restrictions imposed by the land-grant act of 1862; with the 
balance of the profits to constitute a separate fund in the State treas- 
ury to be known as the Cornell endowment fund, and to be free from 
the restrictions imposed by the land-grant act.^ This proposition was, 
on the 4th of August, 1866, embodied in a contract which was exe- 

' Laws of New York, 1866, chapter 481. 

^Report of comraissioners, etc., to the convention of the State of New York, 
1867, Doc. No. 47. See also Laws and Documents relating to Cornell University, 
1892, p. 47. 



348 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

ciTted by Mr. Cornell, and on the 18th of September accepted by the 
commissioners of the land office. 

The object of Mr. Cornell in making this agreement was twofold: 
First, to secure a larger endowment from the land grant than could 
be secured by the sale of the scrip in the open markets, and second, 
to free that portion of it designated as the Cornell endowment fund 
from the provisions of the land-grant act which forbid the income to be 
used for " the purchase, erection, preservation, or repair of any build- 
ing or buildings," and which fasten upon the income a trust for the 
esj)ecial benefit of the departments of agriculture and mechanic arts. 
This appears clearly in his letter already referred to, where he says: 

I shall most cheerfully accept your views so far as to consent to place the entire 
profits ... in the treasury of the State if the State will accept the money as 
a separate fund . . . and appropriate the proceeds from the income thereof 
annually to the Cornell University, subject to the direction of the trustees thereof, 
for the general purposes of said institution, and not hold it subject to the 
restrictions which the act of Congress places upon the fund derivable from the 
sale of the college land scrip, or as a donation from the Government of the United 
States, but as a donation from Ezra Cornell to the Cornell University. 

That his object was fully secured is shown by the decision of the 
New York court of appeals in the McGraw-Fiske will case, when the 
university, in order to save that great benefaction, sought to estab- 
lish that the Cornell endowment fund was impressed with the trust 
imposed by the land-grant act, and therefore constituted no part 
of the $3,000,000 which, by its charter, it was permitted to hold. 
Upon that point the court held that the Cornell endowment fund is 
free from the restrictions of the land-grant act and is a part of the 
general endowment of the university.^ In this opinion the Federal 
Supreme Court, upon appeal, concurred.^ 

Under this agreement Mr. Cornell purchased 813,920 acres, making 
his total purchase 913,920 acres. 

5. MANAGEMENT OP THE SCRIP BY MR. CORNELL. 

During the years 1866 and 1867 Mr. (.ornell withdrew from the 
hands of the comptroller, for the purpose of locating the lands, scrip 
representing 432,000 acres. Of this amount he resold before location 
6,080 acres, and located 425,920 acres. With the 100,000 acres located 
under his first contract, he had, therefore in the course of a few years 
located for the benefit of the universitj^ 525,920 acres of land. 

During the years 1868 and 1869 he consented, at the earnest solici- 
tations of the university trustees, to sell the 381,920 acres still in the 
hands of the comptroller, and this amount was transferred direct to 
the purchaser for 90 cents and |1 an acre. After paying 60 cents an 
acre into the land-scrip fund, there remained $128,499.20 as the 
beginning of the Cornell endowment fund. 

'Matter of McGraw, 111 N. Y., 115, 129. 
2 Cornell University v. Fiske, 136 U. S., 152. 



COENELL UNIVERSITY. 349 

Of the 525,920 acres of land located by Mr. Cornell, 513,920 acres 
were entered in Wisconsin, 8,000 acres in Minnesota, and 4,000 acres 
in Kansas. The great bulk of this land was timber land, and was 
selected oulj^ after the most careful examination by experts, and at a 
great expense, all of which was borne entirely by Mr. Cornell. In 
addition to the expense of location, the land as soon as located was 
subject to taxation, while there were heavy expenses in preserving 
it from the depredations of timber thieves. When the whole matter 
was investigated by a committee appointed by the governor of the 
State in 1874, it appeared from their report that from 1865 to 1872 
Mr. Cornell had expended $172,225.19 in the location and care of 
these lands, ^ and he was then not halfway through his gigantic 
undertaking. 

In addition to this large sum Mr. Cornell was obliged to advance 
the principal sum paid into the treasury upon the purchase of the 
scrip or to secure it by bonds bearing interest, which sums, with the 
interest on all the sums otherwise expended, raised the total sum so 
advanced by him at the time of this report to a half million dollars. 
So that in seven years after the founding of the university Mr. Cor- 
nell had, in addition to his original endowment of $500,000, expended 
in behalf of the university another 1500,000, besides bearing for its 
sake the heavy burdens of his great undertaking. 

6. ATTACKS UPON MR. CORNELL. 

It might be supposed that so noble an effort for humanity would 
win only grateful applause. But, unhappily, Mr. Cornell received 
for a time a far less just and appropriate recompense. For a series 
of years his motives were impugned, his character traduced, and his 
conduct made to appear as that of a scheming ' ' land grabber " and a 
selfish swindler. 

The State convention which met in 1867 for the revision of the con- 
stitution incorporated in its amendments a clause guaranteeing the 
inviolability of the land scrip fund and the Cornell endowment 
fund. This revised constitution came before the people for adoption 
or rejection in 1869. On the 26th of October, a few days before the 
vote was to be cast, a paper published at Rochester contained in its 
editorial columns a lengthy article declaring that these constitutional 
provisions "are intended to cover up and perpetuate, by their incor- 
poration into the organic law, one of the most stupendous jobs ever 
'put up' against the rights of the agricultural and mechanical iDopu- 
lation of the State." After stating, or rather misstating, the facts 
as to the founding of the university and the contract for the sale of 
the scrip, the article proceeds: 

But what becomes of the twenty- three millions [sic] and over of the balance to 

^ Documents of the Senate, 1874, No. 92, p. 19. This report is the authority for 
most of the figures in this chapter. 



350 HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

be realized out of these lands? The answer is plain. It belongs and will go to the 
Cornell family. Already Mr. Cornell has been to the legislature to secure the pas- 
sage of an act incorporating a great land company of which he is chief. To this 
company he will sell these lands, iixing his own price, and his company will make 
from twenty-five to thirty millions of dollars. It can be easily seen how a man 
with little or no money invested, with such an enormous land fund put into his 
hands to manage as he sees fit, can afford to divert public attention from his real 
object by turning it toward a great institution of learning which he is founding. 
, . . Having passed his bill and secured the fruits of the job, it required vigi- 
lant watching to keep the booty secure. Some future legislature might scrutinize 
this transaction. The people might find out how they had been plundered and 
attempt a recapture of some part of the stolen property. All this would be unpleas- 
ant to Mr. Cornell, so he hits on the idea of perpetuating the job by putting it in 
the new constitution. He labored long and patiently for this. At length, by giv- 
ing the chairman of the committee "on education and funds relating thereto" in 
the convention, Mr. George William Curtis, an ornamental professorship in the 
university, and Prof. Theodore W. Dwight, also a member of the convention, 
another ornamental professorship in his university, both of which are supposed 
to bear substantial salaries, with a trusteeship thrown to Horace Greeley, power- 
ful advocates were secured, and the thing was put into the constitution. ' 

This remarkable article, after its base charge against Mr. Cornell 
and its insane insinuations against Mr. Curtis, Mr. Dwight, and Mr. 
Greeley, closes with a warning to the people to reject the constitution 
and to refuse to elect Mr. Greelej^ to the comptroUership, an office for 
which he was a candidate. 

To this tirade Mr. Cornell replied in a letter remarkable for its sim- 
ple and quiet dignity. He explained fully his dealings with the land 
scrip, his efforts to sell the land, and his hopes as to the final outcome 
of his undertaking. His only reference to the personal abuse con- 
tained in the article is in the concluding paragraph of his letter, where 
he says : 

As to the other charge of "swindling," " corruption, "etc., etc., permit me to say 
that I have lived in this State from my birth— more than sixty years. I have had 
personal relations with great numbers of my fellow-citizens, and official relations 
with all of them. To their judgment on you and me I leave jowr epithets of 
" swindler " and " corruptionist." 

This scurrilous attack was not destined to be the last. On the 12th 
of May, 1873, a bill was introduced into the assembly providing for a 
settlement between Mr. Cornell and the State. The fact was that 
Mr. Cornell's health had broken under his heavy burdens, and he was 
now desirous of closing his accounts with the State and transferring 
the lands to the trustees of the university. It was with this ultimate 
end in view that the bill was introduced. Its introduction, however, 
was the signal for an unexpected and bitter attack from the represent- 
ative of the district in which the People's College was situated. He 
rose, upon the introduction of this bill, and, in a speech which lasted 
more than an hour, denounced the whole proceeding, from first to 
last, as iniquitous and corrupt, and charged that Mr. Cornell had 

' Rochester Daily Union and Advertiser, October 26, 1869. 



CORNELL UNIVEESITY, S51 

abused liis position in order to speculate with the lands for private 
gains ; that he had presented no accounts to the State, and that the 
act of Congress donating the lands had been violated by the univer- 
sity. This speech was fully reported in the New York papers, and 
was, of course, widel}^ circulated throughout the State. ^ 

When the daily papers brought the account of this attack to Mr. 
Cornell's notice, he at once wrote and telegraphed to Governor Dix 
asking for an immediate investigation by a commission of citizens to 
be appointed by the governor.^ On the loth of May Mr. Alonzo B. 
Cornell, the eldest son of Ezra Cornell, and at that time speaker of the 
assembly, asked unanimous consent to introduce a resolution for the 
appointment of an investigating committee with Horatio Seymour at 
its head. Only one objection was heard, that of the member who had 
made the charges, but this, under the rules, was sufficient to defeat 
the resolution. The fact was that this member had drawn and had 
introduced into the senate a resolution for the appointment of an 
investigating commission, and had named as commissioners certain 
public officials alleged to be inimical to Mr. Cornell.^ The senate 
resolution was so amended as to leave the appointment of the com- 
missioners in the discretion of the governor. It was further amended 
in the assembly so as to devolve on the commissioners the duty of 
investigating the general condition of the university, and especially 
as to the department of agriculture and mechanic arts."* 

The attack on Mr. Cornell made a profound sensation throughout 
the State. The New York Times said, editorially: 

If, as Mr. McGuire charges, a great speculation has been concealed under the 
pretense of beneficence, Mr. Cornell will lose the high character he has hitherto 
borne: if Mr. McGuire can not sustain his charges with conclusive evidence, he 
sinks into public contempt as a common slanderer.^ 

After the accuser had objected to the resolution in the assembly for 
the appointment of a commission, the same paper said : "Mr. McGuire 
has already proved himself unworthy of public credence." President 
White on May 16, three days after the attack, called together the stu- 
dents of the univejsity and in a singularly able address laid before 
them and the public generally a full history of Mr. Cornell's relation 
to the land grant. ^ In general the charges seemed to have been 
received with incredulity, although they were repeated both in the 
assembly and in the senate. 

The committee appointed by the governor consisted of Horatio Sey- 
mour, William A. Wheeler, and John D. Van Buren — names too well 

'See New York Times, May 13, 1873. 
^Ibid., May 15, 1873. 
3lbid., May 16, 1873; May 21, 1873. 

^Senate journal, 1873, pp. 982, 1021, 1059, 1060: assembly journal, 1873, pp. 1857, 
1925. 
^The address appears in full in the New York Times for May 23, 1873. 



352 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATIOK IN NEW YOEK. 

known in American history, especially the first two, to need com- 
ment. Mr. Seymour and Mr. Van Buren were lifelong political oppo- 
nents of Mr. Cornell and could have no reason for fear or favor in 
their investigation. 

After a most exhaustive and searching examination, during which the 
member of the assembly who had made the charges had every oppor- 
tunity to prove them, the committee made its report on April 16, 1874. 
Two reports were made, which differ only in the view they hold as to 
the relation of the State to the Cornell endowment fund, Mr. Sey- 
mour contending that the State should be relieved of all the care and 
responsibility connected with that fund, and from any, even indirect, 
interest in lands situated within another State. Upon the points 
involving the charges against Mr. Cornell there was but one opinion. 
Mr. Seymour declares that — 

It is due to Mr. Cornell to state that none of the witnesses or parties who ap- 
peared before the committee comp'.ained that he had sought to gain any pecuniary- 
advantage to himself or to his family in the management of the i^roperty under 
his control. On the contrary, those who object most strenuously to the propriety 
of his management, the character of his contracts, and the objects aimed at by 
the legislation he sought or obtained disclaim any purpose to charge that he has 
enriched himself. ' 

There is not a word in either report which reflects in the slightest 
degree upon the character or conduct of Mr. Cornell, while the recom- 
mendations contained in them were mainly in line with the purposes 
which he was desirous of accomplishing. 

This was the last violent attack upon the founder, but up to the 
very year of his death the paper already quoted continued periodically 
to assail him with epithets of "land jobber" and " land grabber. " 
"But," says Mr. White, "he took these foul attacks by tricky de- 
claimers and his vindication by three of the most eminent fellow- 
citizens with the same serenity. That there was in him a profound 
contempt for the wretched creatures who assailed him and imputed 
to him motives as vile as their own, can hardly be doubted; yet, 
though I was with him constantly during this period, I never heard 
him speak harshly of them, nor could I ever see that this injustice 
diminished his good will toward his fellow-men and his desire to ben- 
efit them."^ 

7. TRANSFER OF THE LANDS TO THE UNIVERSITY. 

In October, 1874, the commissioners of the land office approved 
the proposed transfer of the lands from Mr. Cornell to the university. 
This was soon after accomplished, and when the founder breathed 
his last, on December 9, 1874, he passed away in the full assurance that 
the great work he had undertaken, and had borne alone for nearly 
ten years, was accomplished. 

1 Minority report, senate docs. , 1874. No. 93, p. 8, See also majority report, sen- 
ate docs.. 1874, No. 92. 
^ My reminiscences of Ezra Cornell, pp. 36-37. 



CORNELL UNIVERSITY. 353 

But was it? He transferred with the lands the cost of their pur- 
chase, location, and care, a sum in excess of 1576,000. Each year they 
were held added 150,000, $60,000, and in one year over $90,000 to the 
outlay. For seven years the university bore the burden of this vast, 
unjjroductive, expensive endowment. It borrowed from its endow- 
ment fund to carry its land endowment. The income could not pay 
the running expenses of the university and the cost of caring for the 
land and paying taxes upon them. Nearly $400,000 had been taken 
from the productive funds to carry the university and its lands down 
to 1881. It seemed as if the founder's gigantic undertaking might 
result in the final ruin of his university. 

Fortunately for the university and for the outcome of Mr. Cornell's 
great plan, the chairman of the board of trustees, Henry W. Sage, had 
a faith equal to that of the founder and a knowledge and experience 
in timber lands providentially fitting him to carry on the founder's 
work. For seven years he waited, often in the face of bankruptcy 
itself, for the outcome he believed to be assured. Once he set him- 
self against the wishes of his colleagues and persuaded them to allow 
an option that would have brought in a million and a quarter of dollars 
to lapse. He believed that more would be realized for the 275,000 
acres covered by the option. His belief was justified. Pine timber, 
which had been selling for not more than $1 a thousand on the stump 
in 1880, rose rapidly in the next year. In 1881 and 1882 the univer- 
sity sold about 140,000 acres for over $2,300,000. The productive 
funds of the university were trebled by this transaction and from this 
time on the financial skies grew steadily clearer. 

Great as have been Mr. Sage's benefactions to the university — and 
he gave it outright $1,175,000 — his services in the handling of the 
great land endowment are of equal or even greater value and entitle 
him to the lasting gratitude of the friends of higher education. ^ 

In 1881 the legislature transferred the custody and care of the Cor- 
nell endowment fund to the university trustees, thus accomplishing 
fully Mr. Cornell's purpose of making this fund a general endowment 
for all the needs of the institution. 

8. RESULTS OF MR. CORNELL'S UNDERTAKING. 

When Messrs. Seymour, Wheeler, and Van Buren made their 
report upon the management of the land grant in 1874, they all agreed 
that if the total outcome of Mr. Cornell's management was an endow- 
ment of $1,000,000 their expectations would be more than realized. 
Just three days before the twenty years fixed by Mr. Cornell's con- 
tract with the State the value of the lands then sold amounted to over 

'Mr. Sage died September 18, 1897, after having served the university over 
twenty-seven years as trustee, during twenty-two of which he was chairman of 
the board. 

3176 23 



354 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN FEW YOEK. 

three and three-quarter millions of dollars. Mr. Cornell had himself 
estimated the total outcome of his undertaking at only two and one- 
half millions.^ 

By a report of the land committee of the university trustees, dated 
October 6, 1893,^ it appears that the total amount realized from the 
sales of lands to August 1 of that year was 15,566,949.81, while the 
cost of locating and maintaining the lands was 11,370,331.95, leaving a 
total profit of 14,196,617.86. There was then unsold 157,449.44 acres, 
estimated at 1722,534.66. The grand total of Mr. Cornell's giant 
undertaking was therefore 16,289,484.47, netting^ about 15,000,000. 
To this must be added the land scrip fund which would bring the 
total up to 15,700,000. 

No other State can show so good a result. New York, through Mr. 
Cornell's management, obtained an average of $6.73 an acre. Kansas, 
with 90,000 acres, obtained $5.57 an acre; California, with 150,000 
acres, obtained $5.14 an acre; Minnesota, with 120,000 acres, obtained 
$4.39 an acre; Iowa, with 240,000 acres, obtained $2.70 an acre; Michi- 
gan, with 240,000 acres, obtained $2.50 an acre; no other State reached 
an average of $1.75 an acre, while thirteen States obtained not to 
exceed an average of 60 cents an acre. The total product of the 
grant, exclusive of New York's share, amounted to $9,204,897.51, or 
less than one and one-half times the total realized in New York alone. ^ 

This achievement of Mr. Cornell is perhaps as great a piece of 
financiering as was ever undertaken and consummated for purely 
philanthropic purposes, and fully justifies the remark of his colleague, 
President White, that — 

Like the great prince of navigators in the fifteenth century, he might be described 
as a man ' ' who had the taste for great things '" — " qui tenia gusto en cosas grandes. " 
He felt that the university was to be great, and he took his measures accordingly. 

B. The Land Scrip Fund. 

The land scrip fund, consisting of the amounts received by the 
State for sale of scrip prior to the contract with Mr. Cornell and the 
amounts paid into the fund by Mr. Cornell under his contract, in all 
$473,420.87, remained, after the transfer of Mr. Cornell's contract to 
the university in 1874, and the transfer of the Cornell endowment 
fund to the university in 1880, in the hands of the State. As early as 
1876 a difference of opinion arose between the comptroller and the 

^Letter to Comptroller, dated June 9, 1866. 

^Proceedings of board of trustees, 1890, p. 286. The report of the treasurer for 
1898 shows $4,513,289.20 in the Cornell endowment fund, 155,194 acres of land 
unsold, estimated at $600,000, and $688,576.12 in the land scrip fund, making a 
grand total of $5,801,865.32. The estimate of 1893 is therefore more than con- 
firmeu by the results in 1898. 

'^History of the agricultural college land grant, by S. D. Halliday, Ithaca, 1890, 
pp. xvi-xviii. These figures are in some cases estimated, but in all cases upon 
date furnished by the proper State authority to Mr. Halliday. 



COENELL UNIVERSITY. 355 

univei^ity trustees as to the legality of charging the revenue of the 
fund with the premiums paid on investments.^ The result was a 
friendly suit to test the question in which the court of appeals decided 
that the comptroller was not justified in so charging the cost of invest- 
ment against the revenue of the fund.^ The legislature thereupon, 
in 1891, appropriated to the university the sum of $89,383.60, that 
being the amount of income theretofore withheld by the State to cover 
such expenses. It is this fund that made the law school building 
(Boardman Hall) possible. 

The question still remained open, however, whether, in case invest- 
ments could not be secured at 5 per cent, the State was under an 
obligation, arising from its acceptance of the land grant, to pay 5 per 
cent net to the university. To put an end to this doubt the legisla- 
ture of 1894 passed an act covering the fund into the State treasury, 
and agreeing to pay thereafter 5 per cent on the fund to the uni- 
versit3^ This act was, however, vetoed by Governor Flower.^ A 
similar act was passed in 1895 and became a law.'' The result was 
that the securities in which the fund was invested were sold, and the 
proceeds, together with sums thereafter paid into the fund under the 
contract, became a part of the general fund of the State, for which 
certificates were issued to the university bearing interest at 5 per 
cent. This secures, therefore, a permanent 5 per cent investment on 
this fund. A final settlement with the State, anticipating payments 
on lands yet unsold and adding the premium on the securities sold, 
fixed the fund at $688,576.12, for which amount the university now 
holds the bond of the State. 

C. Additional Federal Endowments. 

In 1887 Congress passed an act entitled "An act to establish agri- 
cultural experiment stations in connection with the colleges estab- 
lished in the several States under the provisions of an act approved 
July 2, 1862, and the acts supplementary thereto." The act appro- 
priates to each State the sum of 115,000 annually out of the proceeds 
of the sales of public lands for the establishment and maintenance of 
such a station at the land-grant colleges. It provides, however, that 
in States having such colleges, and having also agricultural experi- 
ment stations separate from such colleges, the State jnay apply the 
benefits of the appropriation to the stations so separately established. 
This grant New York promptly accepted^ and subsequently appro- 
priated to Cornell University'^ " as the college within this State solel}^ 

1 Comptroller's report, 1876. See laws and documents relating tc Cornell Uni- 
versity (1892), p. 154. 

2 Reported in 117 N. Y., 549. 

2 See Governor Flower's public papers, 1894, p. 93. 

■*Laws 1895, chap. 78. 

« Concurrent resolution, March 30, 1887. Laws of New York. 1887, p. 943. 

«Laws of New York, 1889, chap. 538; Laws 1893, chap. 383, sec. 87. 



356 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION TN NEW YOEK. 

entitled to receive the benefits of the act." The right of Cornell to 
the "sole" benefits of the act was contested by the agricultural 
experiment station at Geneva, which yearly sought to divert to itself 
a part of the fund. In this it was unsuccessful until 1894, when the 
legislature divided the fund, giving nine-tenths to Cornell and one- 
tenth to the Geneva station.^ The decisive argument in favor of the 
division was found in the fact that, under the provisions of the act of 
Congress, the publications of the beneficiaries of the grant are entitled 
to free postal facilities, and by this division the Geneva station 
became a sharer in this privilege. 

In 1890 Congress passed an act appropriating to each State having 
a land-grant college established under the act of July 2, 1862, the sum 
of 115,000 for the year ending June 30, 1890, to be increased by $1,000 
yearly for ten years, and thereafter to be $25,000 annually. The 
appropriation is "to be applied only to instruction in agriculture, 
the mechanic arts, the English language, and the various branches 
of mathematical, physical, natural, and economic science, with special 
reference to their applications in the industries of life, and to the 
facilities for such instruction."^ New York accepted the grant and 
appropriated it to Cornell University as the only land-grant college 
in the State. ^ By the action of the trustees, taken June 5, 1894, it 
was decided that $10,000 of the fund should go to mechanic arts, 
$10,000 to agriculture, and the surplus to the remaining subjects 
named in the act.* After 1900 the fund Mali amount to $25,000 
annually. After that year the Federal Government will therefore 
appropriate each year to the State of New York $40,000, of which, 
under the present arrangement, Cornell will receive $38,500. 

D. New York State Endowments. 

New York State has been singularly indifferent to the welfare of 
her greatest university. Down to the year 1893 she never gave it a 
dollar out of her own treasury. The land grant with its two funds — 
the Cornell endowment fund and the land scrip fund — was the gift of 
the Federal Government. Its true value is represented by the land 
scrip fund. The Cornell endowment fund is the creation of Ezra 
Cornell. 

Yet during this whole period Cornell was under obligation to edu- 
cate, free of charge, 512 students annually, besides all students in 
agriculture — an obligation representing an annual expense of over 
$50,000. 

The State, urged on by the vigorous policy of President Schurman, 
is beginning to awake to its duty in this regard. In 1893 it appropri- 

' Laws 1894, chap. 376. 

■' 26 U. S. Statutes at Large, p. 417; Laws 1890, chap. 841. 

^Laws of New York. 1891, chap. 56, 

* Proceedings of board of trustees, 1890, pp. 320, 321, 329. 



COENELL UNIVERSITY. 357 

ated 150,000 for an agricultural building. In 1894 it established at 
Cornell University a veterinary college, and appropriated $50,000 
for a building. This college is, by the terms of the act, to be a State 
college, but is to be administered by the trustees of Cornell TJniver- 
sitj'. The trustees of the universit}^ accepted the responsibility of 
administration, and consented to the location of the college on the 
university grounds, but without undertaking any financial responsi- 
bility for the maintenance of the institution.' In 1895 a further 
appropriation of 1100,000 was made for the completion and equip- 
ment of the veterinary college building, and annual appropriations of 
$25,000 have since been made for its maintenance. In 1898 the New 
York State College of Forestry was established at Cornell hy act of the 
legislature, and a demonstration area in the Adirondacks provided for. 

E. Private Endowments. 

Cornell University has been unusually fortunate in the number and 
generosity of those who have aided in building up her endowments. 
It is very rare indeed in the history of educational institutions that 
the work of one man's hands is so quickly strengthened by the work 
of many hands. Until a university has a body of alumni able to come 
to its support, it is usually left to the sole care of its founder or his 
immediate family. It is only the older universities that are wont to 
receive the benefactions of private individuals. Cornell has received 
a goodly measure of such gifts. Many of these can never be esti- 
mated in money value. Many which came in the form of money had 
at the time a value far higher than that affixed in the exchanges. 

Of the latter was the gift made by Hiram Sibley, a citizen of Roch- 
ester, on the occasion of the publication in a Rochester paper of a 
savage attack on Mr. Cornell. Immediately upon the appearance of 
the article, Mr. Sibley wrote: 

I know that the charges recently published are utterly untrue, but I am not 
skilled in newspaper controversy, so I will simply add to what I have already 
given to the university a special gift of $30,000, which will testify to my towns- 
men here, and perhaps to the public at large, my confidence in Mr. Cornell. - 

Similar in spirit was the gift of Mr. Sage, which made possible the 
beginnings of coeducation. Similar, too, the earliest gift of all, after 
Mr. Cornell's, the beautiful chime of bells, whose sweet jangling was 
the first greeting Cornell gave to her gathering sons. And of like 
quality was the gift of the " Ostrander elms," planted on the campus 
by John B. Ostrander after he had reached his three score years and 
ten, and which Mr. Sage has said, "always had for me a fragrance 
akin to that of the widow's mite immortalized in Scripture."^ The 

^ Proceedings of Board of Trustees, 1890, pp. 330-3. 

^ White: My Reminiscences of Ezra Cornell, p. 34. 

^ See the address of Mr. Sage at the inauguration of President Adams, for these 
and many more instances of noble gifts whose value is beyond all price. — Proceed- 
ings and Addresses at Inauguration, etc., pp. 43-46. 



358 HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

large gifts of service by Mr. Cornell, Mr. White, Goldwin Smith, Mr. 
Sage, and many others, are simply beyond price, as is also the gift of 
the President White Library, to duplicate which, if that be possible, 
would require years of patient search and devotion. All these things 
have gone into the permanent endowment of Cornell University, and 
will remain as the inalienable heritage of scholars forever. They 
belong to that noble wealth of universities and of nations which is 
transmitted into hnman lives and human character. 

Ezra Cornell's gifts have already been mentioned. The endowment 
of $500,000 was supplemented by a farm of over 200 acres of land, on 
which the university was built. In addition to the great endowment, 
the chief source of the university's income, growing out of his man- 
agement of the land grant, minor gifts were quietly made by the 
founder from time to time during his lifetime. Altogether his gifts 
mounted up to $670,000, besides the profits on the land contract. 
Including that, the endowments provided by Mr. Cornell will prob- 
ably aggregate five and a half or six million dollars. 

Henrj^ W. Sage stands next to Mr. Cornell in the amount of endow- 
ment provided and in the unwearied interest shown in the manage- 
ment of the financial affairs of the university. He took on his own 
shoulders mainly the management of the lands when Mr. Cornell 
could no longer carrj^ it, and to his ability, experience, and devotion 
is due in large measure the endowment resulting from that source. 
In addition, Mr. Sage has given in buildings, books, equipment, and 
money about $1,200,000. Of this amount $650,000 is in permanent 
endowment and the balance in buildings and equipments or repre- 
sents money paid into the general fund. 

Andrew D. White has probably given as largely, in proportion to 
his fortune, as any benefactor of the university. The president's 
house, the President White historical library, the architectural library, 
the Spinoza collection, and numerous gifts of smaller collections, the 
bronzes and furnishings of the Christian association rooms, the uni- 
versity gates, and frequent gifts of money in considerable amounts 
bring his donations up to a money value of $200,000. 

Hiram Sibley's donations were mainly for the college of mechanical 
engineering which bears his name, though $20,000 was given to the 
general fund. In all, his gifts amount to over $156,000. 

Hiram W. Sibley has carried on the work begun by his father. 
Already his gifts to Sibley College amount to over $70,000. 

John McGraw gave, in addition to moneys for the general fund, 
the building which bears his name. His total donations exceeded 
$140,000. 

Goldwin Smith, during his connection with the university, gave to 
it his own private library, and added from time to time gifts of books 
and money. 

The Cascadilla Company, composed mainly of citizens of Ithaca, 



COENELL UNIVERSITY. 359 

^ave to the university their interest in the Cascadilla Building, valued 
at $35,000. 

Daniel B. Fayerweather left by his will $200,000 to the university. 
This gift came from an unexpected source, as Mr. Fayerweather had 
never during his life manifested any interest in Cornell. Mr. Fayer- 
weather's will was the subject of a long litigation. Cornell received 
about $300,000 from the estate. 

Alfred S. Barnes provided a home for the university Christian asso- 
ciation and other religious organizations, at a cost of 145,000. Barnes 
Hall is the memorial of this generous gift. 

Dean Sage, a son of Henry W. Sage, endowed the Sage College 
pulpit with $30,000, from'the income of which the Sage College preach- 
ers are remunerated. 

William H. Sage, another son of Henry W. Sage, gave the organ for the 
chapel. He has also given to the library the Zarncke collection on 
Germanic philology and literature, and the Cascadilla Bridge, and 
has given liberally for the equipment of Percy Field for athletic 
sports. In this last donation Mr. J. J. Hagerman was a leading bene- 
factor, the field being named for one of his sons. 

Dean Sage and William H. Sage gave, in 1897, the late residence of 
their father, to be known and used as the Cornell Infirmary, and added 
an endowment for it of $100,000, besides the cost of refitting it for 
its new use. 

Willard Fiske has given to the library the Dante collection and 
other additions, aggregating in value over $30,000. 

Women have shared with men in these benefactions. Mr. Sage 
has testified how largely his gifts were inspired by his wife. Jennie 
McGraw's early gift of the university chimes was followed by other 
occasional gifts for special purposes, and by the noble provision in 
her will for library and other purposes. Mrs. White gave the great 
beil that bears her name. Recently the important gift of the Moak 
Law Library, which gives the law school as good a law library as any 
law school in the country, came from Mrs. Board man and Mrs. Wil- 
liams, the wife and daughter of the first dean of the school. Judge 
Douglass Boardman. Mrs. Alfred S. Barnes gave $1,000 to found a 
Shakespeare prize. Altogether the women benefactors of Cornell 
share with the men the honor of aiding in building up its endowments 
and assuring its prosperity. 

Among other gifts may be mentioned the fund of $2,000 given by 
Judge Boardman for law school prizes; the fund of $2,500 by Stewart 
L. Woodford for the Woodford prize in oratory; the fund of 11,000 
by Prof. E. A. Fuertes for prizes in engineering; the fund of over 
$500 by the class of 1886 for a prize in declamation; the fund of $500 
by the class of 1894 for a prize in debate; the fund of $500 by Horace 
K. White for a prize in veterinary science; the fund of $3,000 by Amos 



360 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

Padgham for an undergraduate scholarship, and the fund of $5,000 by 
ex-Governor Flower for a library of veterinary medicine. 

The library has been the beneficiary of many gifts. Aside from 
those already mentioned are the following: A Rhseto-Romanic collec- 
tion and a Dante collection, by Willard Fiske; a mathematical library, 
by William Kelly; an architectural library, by President White; a 
slavery collection, by Rev. Samuel J. May; a fund of $1,000, by George 
W. Harris, for i collection of Victorian poets; a collection on Celtic 
literature and philology, from Prof. E. W. Evans; a collection on Rus- 
sian history, by Eugene Schuyler; a collection on romance philology, by 
Prof. T. F. Crane. Other donors are Theodore Stanton, Mrs. Eliza- 
beth Pease Nichols, Richard D. Webb, W. L; Burt, Emil Schwertfeger, 
C. D. Cleveland, George L. Burr, H. B. Lord, and many others. Pro- 
fessor Burr has steadily donated his salary as librarian of the Presi- 
dent White Library to the purchase of books for that collection, an 
amount very considerable in the aggregate. 

F. Summary of Endowments and Gifts. 
The following tables represent the total result of endowments, gifts, 
and grants to Cornell University during the first thirty years of its 
existence. Many of the gifts are roughly estimated in dollars as they 
appear on the donation list kept by the treasurer of the university.^ 
Federal grants: 

Landscrip $688,576.12 

Experiment station appropriations ^ 144, 000. 00 

Industrial fund appropriations. 171, 000. 00 

$1,003,576.13 

New York State grants: =^ 

Dairy house . 50,000.00 

Veterinary college 150, 000. 00 

Veterinary college appropriations 50, 000. 00 

250, 000. 00 

Cornell land contract: 

Profits to August 1 , 1898 4,513,289.20 

155,194.61 acres unsold (estimated) 600,000.00 

5, 113, 289. 20 

Private gifts: 

EzraCornell 669,555.01 

Henry W. Sage 1,175,290.79 

Andrew D. White 200,580.47 

Daniel B. Fayerweather'' 295,000.00 

'For a very full list of gifts to 1873, many of which are not included in this 
table, see statement presented to investigating committee, Senate Docs. 1874, No. 
103, pp. 287-210. The aggregate there shown is $1,433,457.16. 

2 All appropriations include those available down to August 1, 1898. 

^Appropriations have been made for horticultural and agricultural experiments, 
and instruction throughout the State to be conducted under direction of the depart- 
ments at Cornell. These are not included. It should be noted that the veterinary 
college belongs to the State and not to Cornell University. The college of for- 
estry, established by laws of 1898, also belongs to, or reverts to, the State. 

■* Cornell will yet share to the extent of from $25,000 to $40,000 in the undistributed 
residue of the Fayerweather estate. 



OOENELL UNIVERSITY. 361 

Private gifts — Continued. 

Hiram Sibley $155,636.09 

JohnMcGraw 140,177.50 

Dean Sage 113,050.76 

William H. Sage .. 105,595.75 

Hiram W. Sibley 71,500.00 

Alfreds. Barnes 45,000.00 

Cascadil la Company ; 35,000.00 

WillardFiske 30,404.00 

Mrs. D. Boardman and Mrs. George R. Williams. 35, 000. 00 

Goldwin Smith ... . 13,118.40 

Jennie McGraw 5,912.50 

RoswellP. Flower 5,000.00 

AmosPadgham 3,000.00 

Mrs. A. D. White 2,570.00 

Stewart L. Woodford 2,500.00 

Douglass Boardman 2,000.00 

Mrs. A. S. Barnes... 1,000,00 

E, A. Fuertes 1,000.00 

George W. Harris 1,000.00 

Various small gifts (estimated) 25, 000. 00 

$3, 123, 891. 27 

Grand total 9,490,756.59 

Some of these gifts have gone into permanent improvements, some 
into equipment, some into current expenses, and some into productive 
investments. The report of the treasurer for 1898 shows the propertj^ 
estimating the present worth of lands, buildings, and equipment, 
much of which has been paid for by income, to be as follows : 

Invested funds ■ .... $6,356,674.30 

Surplus fund 30,449.46 

Surplus current income 59, 694. 45 

Real estate (estimated) 1,796,372.86 

Equipment (estimated) .... 1,135,308.13 

Western lands (estimated) 600,000.00 

9, 978, 499. 19 
The income for 1897-98 was as follows: 

Investments and rents $386,051.89 

Tuition and fees 151,367.71 

Federal grants 36,742.87 

Donations 7,000.00 

Otheritems. 1,888.26 

583, 050. 73 
Veterinary college appropriation 35, 000. 00 

608,050.73 

In addition Cornell acted as trustee of the State in the expenditure 
of $35,000 appropriated for the promotion of agricultural knowledge 
in extension work done under the direction of the Cornell college of 
agriculture. 



362 HISTOKY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW .YORK. 

This result for the thirtieth year of the university is in sharp con- 
trast with the poverty of the first half of the period of its existence. 
Again and again it seemed during those years that the university 
would be obliged to declare itself bankruijt. The income was so far 
below the needs that a debt of 1155,000 could be paid only by the sub- 
scriptions of the friends of the university — Messrs. Cornell, White, 
Sage, McGraw, and Sibley. In 1873 the income was $101,000, the 
expenditures $106,089.12.^ The tuition fees in that year amounted to 
but $18,000. In 1881 the actual income was only 1100,000, of which 
but $14,750 was from tuition. Large inroads had been made upon 
the capital to carry the university and its land. But thereafter con- 
ditions rapidly improved. The great land sales of 1881-82 swelled the 
productive funds to three times their former amount. From this time 
on the financial skies grew steadily clearer. 

This is the result of thirty years of generous benefactions and wise 
management. At the outset the university started with a cash endow- 
ment of $500,000 and land scrip valued at $600,000. To-day its prop- 
erty is valued at nearly $10,000,000, and its annual income is nearly 
$600,000. Two men share the honor of accomplishing the largest 
measure of this splendid result, Ezra Cornell and Henry W. Sage. 
While they stand easily first among those who have assured the finan- 
cial prosperity of the university, the gratitude of all good citizens is 
also due to the other benefactors who have aided in the upbuilding 
of the material resources and prosperity of Cornell. 

VI. 

THE DEPARTMENTS, COLLEGES, AND FACULTIES OF CORNELL. 

Reference has already been made to the plan of organization out- 
lined by Mr. White and adopted by the trustees. In order to bring 
together the salient facts connected with the development of this 
plan a sketch of the courses of study, the departments of work, and 
the personnel of the faculty seems necessary. 

A. Courses of Study. 

1. THE ACADEMIC COURSES IN ARTS AND SCIENCES. 

The academic courses in arts and sciences have been of four types: 
(1) The arts or classical course, requiring Greek and Latin; (2) the 
philosophy or literature course, requiring Latin but replacing Greek 
by the modern languages; (3) the science course, requiring the modern 
languages, mathematics, and natural sciences; (4) the science and 
letters (or letters) course, requiring the modern languages, literature, 
philosophy, and elementary mathematics and sciences. To these 



' Report of treasurer before investigating committee. N. Y. Senate Doc, 1874, 
No. 103, pp. 342, 343. 



COENELL UNIVERSITY. 363 

should be added the elective or optional course (or albsence of speci- 
fied course), although this had but a brief and apparently unsuccess- 
ful career. 

As to these last courses it was announced that any student might 
freely choose all his work for himself, subject only to the conditions 
of taking such subjects as he was fitted to pursue and of attending 
three exercises daily. "These elective courses," it was added, "are 
intended to give to the student full and entire freedom in the selec- 
tion of his studies — a freedom every way equal to that which prevails 
in the universities of continental Europe." Degrees were to be con- 
ferred when a student had completed a course equivalent to either of 
the general courses, and that degree which best corresponds to the 
nature of the work pursued. The same arrangement practically pre- 
vailed down to 1873-74, when a more guarded statement as to elective 
courses — or as they now begin to be termed, optional courses — appears, 
and in 1875-76 the student is plainly told that if he intends to gradu- 
ate at all he "should by all means select the course that leads to the 
degree he expects to take, and follow it in the order laid down ; the 
disadvantages of doing otherwise are so great as to render success 
almost impossible." This admonition is repeated down to 1878-79, 
when all suggestion that there is even a possibility of a student's 
graduating in an optional course disappears, and "optional" students 
from then on simply mean those who are not candidates for a degree. 

The arts course continued its characteristic features down to the 
legislation of 1896, referred to hereafter. 

The courses in philosophy and literature appear first under the name 
"philosophy" (1868-1871); then under the name "literature" (1871- 
1874); then as two separate courses leading to the separate degrees 
(1874-1885); then as philosophy (1885-1896). 

The science course maintained its leading characteristics from 1868 
to 1896. 

The science and letters course first appears in the register for 1876-77 
and after 1885-86 is known as the course in letters. Prior to the 
latter date the degree given was bachelor of science in science and 
letters; thereafter the degree was bachelor of letters. The course 
was a cross between the course in philosophy and literature and the 
course in science. Its distinguishing features were the requirement 
of the modern languages, literature, philosophy, history, and political 
science, with some elementary mathematics and natural sciences. It 
was abolished by faculty legislation of 1894, to take effect with the 
class entering in the fall of 1896. 

At first the work in each of these courses was all prescribed. Spe- 
cialization was therefore impracticable. To remedy this, special courses 
(in science particularly) were laid down. We find at different times 
special courses in mathematics, chemistry and physics, natural his- 
tory, and in history and political science. Later, however, the prac- 



364 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

tice begins of having elective hours in the latter years of each course, 
thus enabling the student to arrange his own "special" course, and 
the prescribed special courses disappear. In 1873-74 the arts course 
exhibits a guarded scheme for elective work by printing a list of sub- 
jects among which the student may elect his hours. In 1875-76 all is 
elective after the first year, except Greek and Latin for the sophomore 
y^ar and about five hours in philosophy and literature in the junior 
and senior years. This goes on with some fluctuations down to about 
1886, when from four to six hours (out of a requirement of fifteen) are 
made elective in the second year and practically all of the third and 
fourth years, except some required work in English. Elective work 
in the other courses advanced more slowly. Five hours a term (out 
of the required fifteen) were allowed in science in the senior year down 
to about 1876. Then the option among prescribed courses was given. 
After about 1886 the elective hours increase rapidly. The same 
is true of the courses in philosophy and literature. After 1885-86 
the last two years of all the general courses present a wide range of 
electives. 

During the period from 1868 to 1896 the courses in science and 
science and letters, which at first had entrance requirements consid- 
erably below those in arts and philosophy, had gradually raised their 
requirements toward the level of the classical courses. At the same 
time each of the four courses had gradually enlarged the electives 
allowed until in each the last two years were practicallj^ free from 
required work. These changes brought the four courses (or the three 
after the abolition of "letters," in 1894) into practical equality of 
entrance requirements and requirements for a degree. In 1896 the 
final step was naturally and logically taken by fixing a uniform 
entrance requirement for all students matriculating in arts and sciences 
in and after 1897, requiring no specified work in course except mili- 
tary drill, gymnastics, and thesis, and conferring the single degree of 
bachelor of arts on all students who completed the requisite number 
of hours. The result was the abolition of all "courses" of study in 
the academic department and the substitution of the uniform entrance 
requirement (consisting, however, of elective groups), the free elective 
system, and the uniform degree. The evolution of the arts and sciences 
curriculum has been marked therefore by three distinct stages: (1) 
Parallel specified courses; (2) parallel courses with increasing elec- 
tives; (3) the abolition of " courses " and the establishment of the free 
elective system. 

3. THE TECHNICAL AND PROFESSIONAL COURSES. 

The technical and professional courses have been conducted by the 
following departments : 

(1) Agriculture, known as the college of agriculture down to 1874, 
then as the department of agriculture to 1888, and since as the college 
of agriculture. 




r'*!?"' ffiwi' Ere 

MM!. 




CORNELL UNIVERSITY. 365 

(2) Mechanical engineering, known as the college of mechanic arts 
down to 1871, then as the Sibley College of Mechanic Arts down to 
1886, and since as the Sibley College of Mechanical Engineering and 
Mechanic Arts. A course in electrical engineering was established 
in the college in 1883-84. 

(3) Civil engineering first appears as the school of civil engineer- 
ing in the college of mathematics and engineering (1868-1871), then 
as the "college of civil engineering and architecture (1871-1873, then 
as the department or faculty of civil engineering (1873-1890, and 
thereafter as the college of civil engineering. 

(4) Architecture, which was at first included under civil engineer- 
ing, became a separate department in 1873, and since 1896 has been 
known as the college of architecture. 

(5) Law, established as the school of law in 1887, has been known 
as the college of law since 1896. 

(6) Veterinary science, which was included under agriculture, be- 
came a separate college in the fall of 1896 under the style of the New 
York State Veterinary College. 

(7) The medical college, established in 1898, began work in the fall 
of that year. Previously there had been a special course known 
as the medical preparatory course conducted by the department of 
physiolog}^ and zoology. 

(8) The New York State College of Forestry was established in 
1898, and is now in its first year. 

The "special courses" appearing in the earlier registers under the 
head of " chemistry and physics," "natural history," etc., are merely 
specialized forms of the general course in science and are not to be 
taken as technical or professional courses. 

The use of the term ' ' college " to describe the various departments 
of instruction was introduced at the beginning of the university, and 
in the first register (1868-69) we find the college of agriculture, the 
college of mechanic arts, the college of chemistry and physics, the 
college of history and political science, the college of languages, 
the college of literature and philosophy, the college of mathematics 
and engineering, the college of military science, and the college of 
natural science. They reappear in the same form in 1869-70, 1870- 
71, and, with the addition of the college of civil engineering and 
architecture, in 1871-72 and 1872-73. Thereafter they are spoken of 
as "courses of instruction" or "departments," with the exception 
of "Sibley College," which, however, seems to be used to describe 
the building of that name rather than the department of instruction. 

3. GRADUATE COURSES. 

During the early history of the university, graduate instruction 
was neither very considerable in amount nor systematic in character. 
The first register announces that advanced degrees will be given as 



366 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

follows : Master of Arts, Master of Science, Civil Engineer, and Doc- 
tor of Philosophy. To these were added in 1872-73 Doctor of Veter- 
inary Medicine, and Architect. The latter disappears in 1875-76. 
Doctor of Science appears in 1876-77. Only nine doctor's degrees 
were conferred down to 1885. 

With the increase of the faculty and facilities for instruction the 
amount and character of graduate work was steadily raised. The 
establishment of fellowships and graduate scholarships led to an 
increase in the number of students pursuing graduate courses. 
During 1897-98 there were 154 students in the graduate department, 
and in that year advanced degrees were conferred as follows: Master 
of Arts, 10; Master of Science, 1; Master of Science in Agriculture, 5; 
Master of Civil Engineering, 3; Master of Mechanical Engineering, 2; 
Master of Laws, 5; Doctor of Philosophy, 23. Hereafter the following 
degrees will be conferred: Master of Arts, Master of Science in Archi- 
tecture, in Civil Engineering, in Mechanical Engineering, and in 
Agriculture; Doctor of Philosophy. 

The graduate department is now under the jurisdiction of the uni- 
versity faculty and the personal supervision of its dean. 

B. Requirements for Admission to Courses. 

The requirements for admission to the university have varied 
widely among the different courses. In arts the requirements liave 
been from the first as high as at any other university. In philosophy 
and literature they were, until about 1881, lower than in arts by the 
omission of Greek. After that date a requirement in modern lan- 
guages or mathematics was adopted as an equivalent for Greek. In 
letters (and science and letters) and in science the requirement, down 
to 1876, was primary. After that date there is a requirement of a 
modern language or advanced mathematics, and in 1888 there is a 
requirement of two modern languages or one language and advanced 
mathematics. In 1895-96 the requirement in these courses was (in 
addition to primary subjects) two of the following subjects : Advanced 
French, advanced German, advanced mathematics. In 1896-97 a uni- 
form requirement was adopted in the department of arts and sciences 
as follows: Tlie primary subjects; one of the following groups : (1) 
Latin and Greek; (2) Latin, advanced French, or advanced German; 
(3) advanced French, advanced German, and advanced mathematics. 
Agriculture required only primaries down to 1888-89; after that date 
its requirement is the same as in science. Architecture and mechan- 
ical engineering required only primaries down to 1887-88, when solid 
geometry was added. In 1890-91 elementary French or German was 
added. Since 1893-94 solid geometry, advanced algebra, plane and 
spherical trigonometry, and elementary French or German have been 
required. In civil engineering the same is true, except that the last 
requirement was not added until 1897-98. In law the New York law 



COEKELL UNIVEESITY. 367 

student certificate (or its equivalent) was required down to 1898, when 
the requirement was made uniform with that of the department of 
arts and sciences. 

The present requirements for admission are as follows: 

For all courses: English, physiology, plane geometry, elementary 
algebra, two of the following : Grecian history, Roman history, English 
history, American history. 

For arts and sciences, agriculture, and law: One of the following- 
groups : (1) Greek and Latin; (2) Latin and advanced French or 
advanced German; (3) advanced French, advanced German, and 
advanced mathematics, or as an alternative to mathematics, one of 
the sciences, physics, chemistrj^ botany, geology, or zoology. 

For architecture, civil engineering, or mechanical engineering: 
Solid geometry, advanced algebra, plane and spherical trigonometry, 
elementary French or German. 

For veterinary science: Three of the following: (1) Elementary 
French; (2) elementary German; (8) elementary Latin; (4) advanced 
Latin; (5) Greek; (6) two years in physics, botany, geology, zoology, 
advanced French, advanced German. 

For medicine, a medical student's certificate issued by the regents 
of the State of New York. 

For forestry: Advanced French, advanced German, and advanced 
mathematics, with Latin as an alternative for French. 



368 



HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 









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370 HISTORY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

C. The Faculties. 

The first organization of the faculties was, at least theoretically, 
into a general university faculty and into a number of special facul- 
ties corresponding to the ' ' colleges " above described. It is stated in 
the first register that — 

The faculties of the colleges have, under the university faculty, the general 
supervision of the lectures and class exercises properly belonging to each; arrange 
special courses; are charged with the oversight of students pursuing special 
courses, and are intrusted with the keeping of such of the university museums 
and collections as illustrate their respective branches ot study. 

This is repeated down to and including the register for 1872-73. In 
1873-74 the term "college" disappears, and with it the term "special 
faculties." The latter makes its reappearance, however, in 1874-75, 
and continues with some variations down to 1890-91. It seems, how- 
ever, to express nothing more than a grouping according to depart- 
ments of work. At most the ' ' special faculty " was a committee for 
routine administration, and all matters requiring faculty action were 
referred to the one general faculty. 

In 1887 the faculty of law was organized as an independent faculty, 
and from that date to 1896 there were two faculties, each quite inde- 
pendent of the other. 

In 1889-90 appears for the first time the university senate, com- 
posed of the full professors of the general and law faculties and 
vested with the power of confirmation or rejection, subject to final 
action of the board of trustees, of nominations for positions in either 
of the two faculties. After a short and somewhat tempestuous career 
the academic senate disappears in 1893. 

In 1896 there was a complete and radical reorganization of the 
departments and faculties. First, there was a return to the early 
nomenclature, and each technical or professional department was des- 
ignated as a "college." Second, there was a return to the early divi- 
sion into a university faculty and a number of special faculties, the 
latter corresponding to the " colleges," and in addition including as 
one special faculty all the corps of instruction in the academic depart- 
ment or department of arts and sciences. Under this plan the uni- 
versit}^ faculty, or general faculty, includes all professors, associate 
professors, and assistant professors, and deals with the graduate 
department, matters of general university policy, and matters affect- 
ing more than one special faculty. The special faculties include the 
faculty of arts and sciences, the faculty of the college of law, the fac- 
ulty of the college of civil engineering, the faculty of the college of 
mechanical engineering, the faculty of the college of architecture, the 
faculty of the college of agriculture, the faculty of the medical col- 
lege, the faculty of the New York State Veterinarj^ College, and the 
faculty of the New York State College of Forestr3^ Each special fac- 
ultj^ deals with the concerns of its own department or college, deter- 



CORNELL UNIVEESITY. 37 1 

mines entrance requirements and courses of studj^ and exercises dis- 
cipline over its own students. Its legislation is subject to revision by 
the university faculty "on all matters affecting general university 
policy." 

In 1886-87 appears for the first time the dean of the general faculty. 
This office was continued down to 1896, when, upon the reorganization, 
a dean was appointed for the university faculty, for the faculty of 
arts and sciences, and a ' ' director of the college and dean of the fac- 
ulty " for each of the colleges. The school of law had been organized 
with a dean from its beginning in 1887. The deans have been as fol- 
lows: 

The old general faculty (to 1896): Charles Ashmead Schaeffer 
(1886-87) ; Henry Shaler Williams (1887-88) ; Horatio Stevens White 
(1888-1896). 

The law school faculty : Douglas Boardman (1887-91); Francis Miles 
Finch (1891 — ); associate dean, Harry Burns Hutchins (1892-1895). 

Under the reorganization of 1896: University faculty, Horatio Ste- 
vens White; arts and sciences, Thomas Frederick Crane; agriculture, 
Isaac Phillips Roberts; architecture, Charles Babeock (1896-97), Alex- 
ander Bull Trowbridge (1897 — ) ; civil engineering, Estevan Antonio 
Fuertes; mechanical engineering, Robert Henry Thurston; law, 
Francis Miles Finch; veterinary medicine, James Law; medicine, Wil- 
liam M. Polk (1898 — ); forestry, Bernhard E. Fernow (1898 — ). 

D. The Professors. 

It is quite impracticable to do more than refer to the various pro- 
fessors who have conducted the educational work of the university. 
For convenience they will be mentioned in connection with the depart- 
ments and colleges into which the university is now divided. 

1. THE ACADEMIC DEPARTMENT. 

The academic department is now divided into numerous separate 
branches or groups. For the sake of simplicity and convenience these 
may be here grouped into a somewhat smaller number. Prof. T. 
F. Crane has been dean of the faculty of arts and science since 1896, 
and was, during the temporary absence of Dr. Schurman, the acting 
president of the university. 

A. Languages and Literatures. 

The classical languages were originally united at Cornell under the 
professorship of Albert S. Wheeler from 1868 to 1871. In the latter' 
3^ear a division was made upon the resignation of Professor Wheeler. 
Tracy Peck became professor of Latin and Isaac Flagg professor of 
Greek. In 1880 Professor Peck was succeeded bj^ Prof. William 
Gardner Hale, and he in turn in 1892 by Prof. Charles E. Bennett. 
Professor Flagg was succeeded in 1888 bj^Prof. Benjamin I. Wheeler, 
who in 1886 had been called to the chair of comparative philology, 



372 HISTORY OF HIGHEK EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

and who combined the two. G. P. Bristol is associate pi'ofessor of 
Greek, and H. C. Ehner assistant professor of Latin. Alfred Emer- 
son was associate professor of classical archaeology from 1891 to 
1898. An excellent museum of classical archaeology has been pro- 
vided through the generosity of Henry W. Sage. The work in Greek 
and Latin has always been of the highest order, and during the period 
of intercollegiate literary contests from 1874 to 1879 Cornell students 
distinguished themselves, especially in the contests in Greek and 
Latin. Since 1896 Nathaniel Schmidt has been professor of the Sem- 
itic languages and literatures. H. S. White (1876-1878), D. W. Brown 
(1878-79), and William R. Perkins (1879-1882) have served as assistant 
professors of Latin. 

The modern foreign languages seem to have been divided from the 
outset into two chairs, that of Romance languages and that of Ger- 
manic languages. The first was filled down to 1881 b}^ Prof. William 
Channing Russel, assisted by Prof. T. F. Crane. J. M. Hart, W. M. 
Howland, F. L. 0. Roehrig, and Alfred Stebbins were also assistants 
at different periods. In 1873 Professor Crane was given an independ- 
ent professorship of Italian and Spanish, and on the retirement of 
Professor Russel became the head of the Romance language depart- 
ment, in which he is now assisted by Asst. Prof. E. W. Olmstead 
and several instructors. The chair of German language and litera- 
ture was filled from 1868 to 1883 by Prof. Willard Fiske. Upon his 
retirement W. T. Hewett, who had been assistant professor since 
1870, and H. S. White, who was assistant professor of Latin from 
1876 to 1878 and of German since 1878, were made professors of Ger- 
man language and literature, and have since jointly administered the 
department. H. H. Boyeson was assistant professor from 1873 to 1876, 
and professor of German literature from 1876 to 1880. Others who 
have been connected with the department as assistants are G. F. 
Behringer (1869-70), J. M. Hart (1869-1873), B. P. McKoon (1870-1883). 

The department of English was organized by Prof. Homer B. 
Sprague, who remained from 1868 to 1870, when he was succeeded by 
Prof. Hiram Corson. Both Professor Sprague and Professor Corson 
were entitled " professor of rhetoric and oratory," but the instruction 
by both was broader than the title, including English literature, and 
in the case of Professor Corson, Anglo-Saxon. In 1871 Charles C. 
Shackford was made professor of rhetoric and general literature, and 
Professor Corson gave his attention to English literature, including 
Anglo-Saxon. LTpon the retirement of Professor Shackford as emeri- 
tus in 1886, Professor Corson again united the work in rhetoric and 
literature until in 1887 Brainerd G. Smith was elected associate pro- 
fessor of rhetoric and oratory, being succeeded in 1893 by Asst. 
Prof. D. C. Lee. From 1881 to 1883 William E. Lucas, who had 
previously been instructor, was assistant professor of rhetoric and 
composition. In 1890 James Morgan Hart became professor of rhetoric 



CORNELL UNIVERSITY. 373 

and Eiigiish philology. The work of the department is now three- 
fold — English literature, in charge of Professor Corson; rhetoric and 
English philology, in charge of Professor Hart, and elocution and 
orator}', in charge of Assistant Professor Lee. O. F. Emerson was 
assistant professor of rhetoric and English philology from 1892-1896. 
In 1897 F. C. Prescott became assistant professor of rhetoric. In the 
same year Miss Louise Sheffield Brownell, warden of Sage College? 
became also a lecturer in English literature. In English literature 
Professor Corson's work has been, since his coming in 1870 to the 
present day, an inspiration and delight to great bodies of students. 

B. HISTORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE. 

History and political science are united into one department, now 
known as the President White School of History and Political Science. 
The union was formally made in 1881, and the above title was adopted 
in 1887. The school has no permanent head, however, and the differ- 
ent chairs combined under the title are practically independent. 

From 1868 to 1885 President White was professor of modern Euro- 
pean history. President Adams succeeded to the same title in 1885, 
but resigned the chair in 1889. In 1890 Herbert Tuttle was transferred 
from the chair of politics to that of modern European history, and on his 
death in 1894 he was succeeded by Prof. H. Morse Stephens. From 
1868 to 1881 William Channing Russel was associate professor of 
history, giving instruction mainly in Roman, mediaeval, and American 
history. From 1868 to 1872 Goldwin Smith was professor of English 
history, and has since been a frequent lecturer on that subject. In 
recognition of his devotion and generosity to the university tlie trus- 
tees conferred on him, in June, 1894, the honorary appointment of 
professor of English history, emeritus. In 1881 a chair of American 
history was established, to which Prof. Moses Coit Tyler was elected, 
a choice which has been more than justified by the unflagging interest 
manifested by students in the work of his department. In 1888 
George L. Burr was made instructor in mediaeval history, and was 
rapidly promoted through all the grades to professor of ancient and 
mediaeval history. The department of history has now, therefore, 
three chairs — ancient and mediaeval history, filled by Professor Burr; 
modern European history, filled by Professor Stephens, and American 
history, filled by Professor Tyler. The department has always been 
peculiarly fortunate in its choice of professors. The brilliant work 
of Professors White and Smith gave it an impetus at tlie outset, 
which it has never lost to the present day. 

In political science the instruction by resident professors was given 
mainly down to 1881 through the courses in history, supplemented by 
brief courses in political economy by Prof. W. D. Wilson and Asst. Prof. 
Ziba Potter. In 1881 Herbert Tuttle was appointed lecturer on inter- 
national law, and in 1883 was made associate professor, and in 1887 



374 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

professor of politics, his exact title varying somewhat from year to year. 
Professor Tuttle's work was of a brilliant order, but his tastes lay 
more decidedly in the lield of modern European history, to which he 
was transferred in 1891. He was succeeded in that year by Prof. 
Jeremiah W. Jenks. In 1883 Henry Carter Adams was elected asso- 
ciate professor of political economy, dividing his time between Michi- 
gan Universitj^ and Cornell. After four years of service, during 
which tinxe he made the study of political economy an inspiration to 
great numbers of students, he retired in order to give all his time to 
Michigan. He was succeeded in 1888 by Prof. E. Benjamin Andrews, 
and he in 1890 by Prof. J. Lawrence Laughlin, with whom A. C. 
Miller was associated. Both the latter resigned in 1892, and the 
department of political science was ui_ited under the head professor- 
ship of Professor Jenks, with E. A. Ross, W. F. Willcox, and C. H. 
Hull as assistants. Professor Ross resigned after one year and the 
work has since been carried on by Professors Jenks, Willcox, and 
Hull, with one or more instructors. The department now falls into 
three classes — that of politics, in charge of Professor Jenks ; social 
science and statistics, in charge of Associate Professor Willcox, and 
political economy and finance in charge of Assistant Professor Hull. 

C. PHILOSOPHY. 

Philosophy was from 1868 to 1886 in charge of William Dexter Wil- 
son, the well- beloved and venerated registrar of the universit3^ Dur- 
ing this period he lectured on the history of philosophy, the philosophy 
of history, psychology, logic, and kindred topics. He also gave some 
instruction in political science, having courses in political economy 
and American law. In 1886 he was made professor emeritus and 
retired from active service. A professorship of Christian ethics and 
mental philosophy was created by the generosity of Henry W. Sage 
in 1885, in memory o:^ his wife, Susan E. Linn Sage, and to this in 1886 
Jacob Gould Schurman was called. In 1890 Mr. Sage endowed a 
department of philosophy and steps were taken to equip and develop 
it. To the department was given the name of Susan E. Linn Sage 
School of Philosophy. Dr. Schurman was made dean of the school 
and professor of mental and moral philosophy, which chair he resigned 
in 1896. Charles Mellen Tjder succeeded Dr. Schurman in 1891 as 
professor of Christian ethics, to which was added the further title of 
the history and philosophy of religion. In addition several professor- 
ships in special branches of philosophy were created. Frank Angell 
was assistant professor of psychology during 1891-92; William A. 
Hammond was made assistant professor of ancient and mvsdiseval 
philosophy in 1892; James E. Creighton was assistant professor of 
modern philosophy from 1892 to 1895, and in the latter year became 
professor of logic and metaphysics ; Edward B. Titchenor was assistant 
professor of psychology from 1892 to 1895 and has been professor of 



COENELL UNIVERSITY. 375 

psychology since the latter date; Jaines Seth was professor of moral 
philosophy from 1806 to 1809. He is to be succeeded next year by Prof. 
E. B. McGilivray. The chair of pedagogy was filled from 1886 to 1898 
by Prof. Samuel Gardner Williams, who, upon his resignation last 
June, was made professor emeritus. He is succeded hy Prof. Charles 
De Garmo. The school publishes a periodical known as the Philo- 
so^ hical Review. 

D. SCIENCES. 

The scientific branches of the academic department may be for con- 
venience grouped under the heads of mathematics, physics, chemistry, 
geology, botany, entomology and invertebrate zoology, and physiology 
and vertebrate zoology. 

The department of mathematics was first organized by Prof. Evan 
Wilhelm Evans, who remained at its head until his death in 1874. 
During this time the following served as assistant professors: Ziba 
H. Potter (1868-1882), William E. Arnold (1869-1876), Henry Turner 
Eddy (1869-1873), Lieut. William J. Hamilton (1869-70), Lucien 
Augustus Wait (1870-1877), James Edward Oliver (1871-1873), William 
Edward Byerly (1873-1876). From 1874 to his death in 1895, Professor 
Oliver was head professor of the department, but since 1891 shared 
the administrative work with Professor Wait, who became an associate 
professor in 1877 and professor in 1891. George William Jones was 
elected assistant professor in 1877, associate professor in 1893, and 
professor in 1895. James McMahon has been an assistant professor 
since 1890, and John H. Tanner since 1894. There have been, during 
the thirty years, a very considerable number of teachers in the depart- 
ment of the rank of instructors. The department necessarily conies 
into relations with a large number of students and has always main- 
tained a rigid standard. 

The department of physics was organized by Prof. Eli Whitney 
Blake, who served from 1868 to 1870, being succeeded by Prof. John 
Jackson Brown, who served for one year, and was in turn succeeded 
by Prof. F. E. Loomis, who also served for one year. The department 
then passed under the charge of Prof. William A. Anthony, who 
served from 1872 to 1887, and to whose ability and zeal the department 
very largely owes its great success. On Professor Anthony's retire- 
ment in 1887 he was succeeded by Prof. E. L. Mchols, who still remains 
in charge. The staff now consists of Professor Nichols, Asst. Prof. 
G. S. Moler (1880—), Ernest Merritt (1892—), and Frederick Bedell 
(1893 — ), besides several instructors and assistants. In 1881 a separate 
building was erected for physics and chemistry, which, since the erec- 
tion of a special building for chemistry, has passed wholly under the 
control of the department of physics. To this department is due 
the establishment of a course in electrical engineering, which is 
now regarded as a department in the Sibley College of Mechanical 



376 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

Engineering. The department publishes a review known as the Phys- 
ical Review, under the editorship of Professors Nichols and Merritt. 

The department of chemistry was organized jointly by Profs. G. C. 
Caldwell and J. M. Crafts, the first being professor of agricultural 
chemistry and the second of general chemistry. Professor Crafts 
retired in 1870. Professor Caldwell still remains in the service, being 
the senior professor of the university, and since 1892 has been profes- 
sor of general chemistry and of agricultural chemistry in general charge 
of the department. Prof. Charles A. Schaeffer was professor of analyt- 
ical chemistry and mineralogy, and later of general chemistry also, 
from 1869 to 1887. Others who have been connected with the depart- 
ment are Prof. C. H. Wing (1870-1873), Prof. A. A. Breneman 
(1875-1882), Prof. S. B. Newbury (1882-1892). The staff now consists 
of Professor Caldwell, Associate Prof. L. M. Dennis (1891 — ), and Asst. 
Prof. W. R. Orndorff (1890—), J. E. Trevor (1892—), Wilder D. Ban- 
croft (1895 — ), besides several instructors and assistants. A building 
known as Morse Hall was erected for the department in 1890, and 
has been enlarged during the present year. 

In geology the first professor was Charles Frederick Hartt, who 
served from 1868 to 1878, and whose brilliant work did much to place 
the department upon a sound basis. Professor Hartt died while upon 
a scientific expedition to Brazil in 1878. Assistant Prof. T. B. Corn- 
stock served from 1875 to 1879, during most of which time Profes- 
sor Hartt was absent in Brazil. From 1879 S. G. Williams was pro- 
fessor of general and economic geology down to 1886, and H. S. Wil- 
liams (1879) was assistant and afterwards full professor of paleontology 
down to the same year, when he became professor of geology and 
paleontology, and so remained until his retirement in 1892. J. F. 
Kemp was assistant professor from 1888 to 1891. The department, 
as at present organized, consists of R. S. Tarr (1892), professor of 
dynamic geology and physical geography; G. D. Harris (1894), assist- 
ant professor of paleontology, and A. C. Gill (1894), assistant profes- 
sor of mineralogy and petrography, besides instructors and assistants. 

The department of botany was organized by Prof. A. N. Prentiss in 
1868, who continued in charge of the department down to 1895. During 
this period W. R. Dudley was assistant professor from 1876 to 1892, 
when he was succeeded by Associate Prof. G. F. Atkinson. W. R. 
Lazenby was assistant professor of horticulture from 1879 to 1881. 
Since 1888 L. H. Bailey, jr., has been professor of general and experi- 
mental horticulture. Professor Atkinson became associate professor 
in 1893 and professor in 1896. WillardW. Rowlee has been assistant 
professor since 1893. The department has been well housed and sup- 
plied with laboratories and greenhouses through the generosity of 
Henry W. Sage. A catalogue of the flowering plants of Ithaca and 
vicinity was published in 1886 by Professor Dudley and marks a por- 
tion of the careful and scholarly work of the author. 



COHNELL UNIVEESITY. 377 

The department of entomology and general invertebrate zoologj^ 
was at first a part of the department of general zoology. John Henry 
Comstock was appointed instructor in the subject in 1873 and was 
made assistant professor in 1876 and full professor in 1882. During 
the period from 1879 to 1881, when Professor Comstock was engaged 
in Government work at Washington, the work was carried on by Asst. 
Prof. W. S. Barnard. The work of Professor Comstock, both at 
Cornell and at Washington, has been of the yery highest order and 
has been of incalculable service to American farmers and fruit grow- 
ers. An insectary, the first of its kind, so far as is known, anywhere 
in the world, was erected and equipped in 1888 and has been copied 
at various other experiment stations throughout the country. 

The department of physiology and vertebrate zoology was organized 
b}'^ Prof. Burt G. Wilder in 1868. Professor Wilder remains in charge 
of the department down to the present, having been assisted since 1878 
by S. H. Gage, who was appointed instructor in that year, assistant 
professor in 1881, associate professor in 1889, and professor in 1895. 
Professor Gage's title is now professor of microscoiDy, histology, and 
embryology. In addition to the work in physiology, anatomy, and 
kindred subjects, intended for general students in science, the depart- 
ment offered until the establishment of the medical college a s]3ecial 
course of two years to students preparing for the study of medicine. 
The equipment of the department in the matter of specimens is excel- 
lent, owing to the unwearied zeal of the professors in charge. The 
museum is specially rich in human brains. Professor Wilder having 
made the brain a special study for many years. 

3. TECHNICAL AND PROFESSIONAL DEPARTMENTS. 

The technical and professional departments consist of the college 
of agriculture, the Sibley College of Mechanical Engineering and the 
Mechanic Arts, the college of civil engineering, the college of archi- 
tecture, the college of law, the medical college, the New York State 
Veterinary College, and the New York State College of Forestry. 

The college of agriculture was organized by Prof. Lewis Spaulding 
in 1869, who remained but one year. He was succeeded by Prof. 
Henry McCandless, who was in charge from 1871 to 1873. During 
this period lectures were delivered by John Stanton Gould. Mr. 
Gould's lectures were probably the only instruction received by agri- 
cultural students in scientific agriculture. Both Professor Spaulding 
and Professor McCandless seem to have been rather practical farmers 
than professors of agriculture. A new era dates from the appoint- 
ment of Prof. Isaac P. Roberts as professor of agriculture in 1873. 
Professor Roberts has been in charge of the department from that 
time to the present, and its growth during this period has been steady 
and gratifying. An experiment station was established in 1879, which 
became a State experiment station in 1887. In 1890 the department 



378 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

became formally the college of agriculture, and Professor Roberts its 
director. The college is strengthened by the allied departments of 
horticulture, under the direction of Professor Bailey, and of veterinary 
science, under the direction of Prof. James Law, who has been in serv- 
ice in that department since 1868. The regular agricultural course is 
four years, but a special course of two j^ears is offered to students who 
are not candidates for a degree, and a short winter course is given 
each winter to meet the needs of those who can not spend more than 
one or two terms at the university. Instruction is given in animal 
industry and dairy husbandry, which is under the charge of Asst. 
Prof. H. H. Wing. The departments of chemistry, botany, entomol- 
ogy, etc. , are allied to the department of agriculture in certain phases 
of its work and help to make up, with the department of agriculture, 
the experiment station. 

The Sibley College of Mechanical Engineering and the Mechanic 
Arts. — The department of mechanic arts was organized at the begin- 
ning of the university by Prof. John L. Morris. Professor Morris is 
still at the head of the department, which is now incorporated into the 
larger organization known as Sibley College of Mechanical Engineer- 
ing and the Mechanic Arts. The Sibley College was reorganized in 
1885, and Prof. Robert H. Thurston was elected director. Its growth 
since that time has been remarkable, the number of students enrolled 
in its various departments in 1898 being 463. As now organized it in- 
cludes six departments — mechanical engineering, experimental engi- 
neering, electrical engineering, mechanic arts, industrial drawing and 
art, and machine design — besides a graduate school of marine engineer- 
ing and naval architecture, and a graduate school of railway mechan- 
ical engineering. 

The present staff consists of the director. Professor Thurston, in 
charge of mechanical engineering; Professor Morris, in charge of 
practical mechanics and machine construction; Prof. R. L. Carpen- 
ter (1890), in experimental engineering; Prof. H. J. Ryan (1889), in 
electrical engineering; Prof. W. F. Durand (1891), in marine engineer- 
ing, and Asst. Prof. E. R. McDermott, in naval architecture; Prof. J. H, 
Barr (1891) and Asst. Prof. D. S. Kimball (1898), in machine design; 
Asst. Prof. E. C. Cleaves (1873), in free-hand and mechanical drawing; 
and Asst. Prof. H. W. Hibbard (1898), in mechanical engineering of 
railways; besides a large number of instructors and assistants. 

Others who have been connected with the department are Prof. 
J. E. Sweet (1878-79), Prof. S. W. Powel (1879-80), Prof. J. B. Webb 
(1880-1885), Asst. Profs. E. L. Gardiner (1879-80), W. C. Kerr 
(1880-1882), W. M. McFarland (1883-1885), F. H. Bailey (1885-1888), 
A. W. -Smith (1887-1892), E. P. Roberts (1888-89), A. B. Canaga 
(1888-1891). 

The college owes its material resources in large part to the gener- 
osity of Hiram Sibley, in whose honor it is named, and who, from 



GOENELL UNIVEKSITY. 379 

1870 to his death, in 1887, gave over 1150,000 toward its equipment 
and endowment. His son, Hiram W. Sibley, has sinc3 added about 
$70,000 for the same purposes. 

The department, down to 1898, had conferred 912 first degrees and 
81 second degrees, a total of first degrees in excess of that conferred 
by an}^ other college of the university or in any one of the general 
courses in the academic department.^ The facilities of the college 
have been overtaxed during recent years, and it has been found neces- 
sary to impose increased requirements for admission in order to keep 
the number of students at a point where they could receive proper 
opportunities for work. Altogether the success of this department 
has justified the ample endowment conferred by the National Gov- 
ernment for instruction in three main branches, of which this is one. 

The college of civil engineering. — In civil engineering the first pro- 
fessor was William Charles Cleveland, upon whose death, in 1873, 
Prof. Estevan A. Fuertes took charge of the department. Under his 
efficient and devoted management it has had a history of marked suc- 
cess. Its graduates, down to 1898, number about 300, and have taken 
front rank in engineering enterprises and as teachers in similar insti- 
tutions. Charles L. Crandall has been assistant professor, associate 
professor, and later professor in the department since 1875; Irving 
P. Church since 1876. The latter was made professor of applied 
mechanics in 1892. Robert Herman was assistant professor in 1884; 
C. D. Marks from 1884 to 1890; C. B. Wing in 1891. H. S. Jacoby 
was appointed assistant professor in 1890, associate professor in 1894, 
and professor in 1898. Gardner Williams was elected professor of 
experimental hydraulics in 1898. The staff now consists of Professors 
Fuertes, Church, Crandall, Jacoby, and Williams, Asst. Prof. H. W. 
Ogden, and a number of instructors and assistants. The department 
was named the college of civil engineering in 1896, and Professor 
Fuertes its director. The college occupies the larger portion of 
Lincoln Hall, which was erected for the joint accommodation of it 
and the department of architecture. In addition to the equipment at 
this building there has just been completed a hydraulic laboratory at 
the foot of Triphammer Falls in Fall Creek. 

Tlie college of arcMtecfu7'e. — The department of architecture 
was united with that of civil engineering down to 1871, when the 
Rev. Charles Babcock was elected professor of architecture and in 
1896 director of the college. Charles Francis Osborne was made in- 
structor in 1880, assistant professor in 1881, and associate professor 
in 1892. He resigned in 1897. C. A. Martin was made assistant pro- 
fessor in 1895. Professor Babcock resigned in 1897 and became pro- 
fessor emeritus. In the same year Alexander Buel Trowbridge was 
elected professor in charge of the college and John V. Van Pelt assist- 

' Science comes next with 749 first degrees, but of these 223 were in science and 
letters; law follows with 608 and arts with 476. 



380 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

ant j)rofessoi-. In 1898 Olaf M. Brauner was elected assistant pro- 
fessor of drawing and molding. The department met with, tlie special 
encouragement of President White, who gave it a valuable library, 
besides additional sums of money for the purchase of books. The 
department or college has conferred 174 first degrees. 

The College of Lmv. — The law school was first organized in 1887. 
The first faculty consisted of Douglass Boardman, dean, and Profs. 
H. B. Hutchins, F. M. Burdick, and C. A. Collin. Professor Bur- 
dick retired in 1891, was succeeded by Prof. Charles E. Hughes, who 
retired in 1893, and was succeeded by Prof. E. W. Huffcut. William 
A. Finch was elected assistant professor in 1891, associate professor 
in 1892, and professor in 1895. Professors Hutchins and Collin 
retired in 1895 and were succeeded by Profs. Cuthbert W. Pound and 
Henry W. Hardon. The latter retired in 1896 and was succeeded by 
Prof. E. H. Woodruff. Prof. Henry S. Red field was elected to the 
faculty in 1898. Upon the death of Judge Boardman in 1891 he was 
succeeded in the office of dean by Judge Francis JM. Finch, an asso- 
ciate justice of the court of appeals. Down to Judge Finch's retire- 
ment from the bench, at the end of 1895, the administration of the 
school was in the efficient hands of Professor Hutchins, first as secretary 
and later as associate dean. In 1896 the school was rechristened a 
college, and Judge Finch became director. A building was erected at 
a cost of over $100,000 for the special accommodation of the school, and 
was dedicated in 1893 as Boardman Hall. At the same time Mrs. 
Boardman and Mrs. George R. Williams, the widow and daughter of 
Judge Boardman, presented the school with the Moak library, a gift 
which gave the school completely adequate library equipment. The 
course up to 1897 was a two years' course, but for the class entering 
in that year and thereafter it was extended to three years. The school 
has conferred 608 first degrees and 60 second degrees. 

The Neiu York State Veterinary College was established at Cornell 
by the legislature of 1894. The State erected and equipped a build- 
ing at a cost of 1150,000, and has since appropriated to its mainte- 
nance $25,000 a year. From 1868 to 1896 James Law was professor of 
veterinary medicine and surgery in the university. With the organi- 
zation of the State college he was elected director. The rest of the 
staff, all elected in 1896, are Profs. V. A. Moore, W. L. Williams, 
and Asst. Profs. P. A. Fish and G. S. Hopkins. Prof. S. H. Gage, 
since 1877 connected with the department of physiology and zoology, 
is also upon the staff of the veterinary college. 

The Medical College opened in the fall of 1898, and is therefore not 
within the period covered by this sketch. The college is located in 
New York, and is due to the generosity of Col. Oliver H. Payne, who 
has undertaken to furnish means for its establishment and mainte- 
nance. It is now located in a building in the grounds of the Belle vue 
Hospital, but a building for its special accommodation is being erected 



CORNELL UNIVEESITY. 381 

on First avenue, between Twenty-seventh and Twenty-eighth streets. 
The first two years of the course are duplicated at the university, so 
that a student may take these years at either place. There are 
already registered in the college 274 students. The faculty numbers 
at the New York college 25 professors, together with a large staff of 
instructors and assistants. 

The New York State College of Forestry, like the medical college, 
does not belong to the era covered in this sketch. It was established 
under authority of the legislature in 1898, and has for its object edu- 
cation and instruction in the principles and practice of scientific 
f orestrj^ The act makes provision for the purchase of a demonstra- 
tion area in the Adirondacks of 30,000 acres, to be the property of the 
university for thirty years, and then to revert to the State. This area 
has already been secured, and the college has entered upon its work 
under the direction of Prof. B. E. Fernow, assisted by F. Roth. 

3. Auxiliary Departments. 

Three departments of the university may be regarded as auxiliary 
to all of the others — namely, the department of military science, of 
physical culture, and of the library. 

The department of military science is made necessary by the terms 
of the land-grant act. The department was organized in 1868 by 
Maj. J. H. Whittlesey, who remained in charge until 1870, being- 
assisted during a portion of the time by Maj. W. E. Arnold. The 
latter was in full charge from 1870 to 1873. Since that date the com- 
mandants have been as follows: Maj. J. W. MacMurray (1873-1875), 
Maj. W. P. Van Ness (1875-1877), Capt. J. B. Burbank (1877-1883), 
Capt. W. S. Schuyler (1883-1886), Lieut. W. P. Van Ness (1886-1889), 
Capt. H. E.Tutherly (1889-1892), Lieut. George Bell (1892-1896). Capt. 
Walter S. Schuyler was again assigned to the post in 1896, but on the 
outbreak of the recent war returned to active service as colonel of 
volunteers. During the early days of the university all students were 
required to wear a uniform, take part in daily military drill, and 
observe in general the requirements of the camp as to hours and 
duties. This rigid military discipline did not continue long, how- 
ever, and the uniform soon disappeared except at the hours for mili- 
tary drill. At present all members of the freshman and sophomore 
classes are required to drill three hours a week during the fall and 
spring terms unless excused for special reasons, such as that they are 
aliens or conscientiously opposed to military exercises on religious 
grounds, or are laboring students or physically unfitted for such 
duties. Lectures are also given to seniors during the winter term on 
military science. The provisions of the land-grant act have thus been 
faithfully observed by the university, and few students are graduated 
who have not had at least two years of military drill. 

The department of physical culture was one of those recommended 



382 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK:. 

by President White in his plan of organization. It was his idea that 
the university should provide a well-equipped gymnasium with a com- 
petent instructor, together with grounds for out-of-door sports, and 
that regular and systematic physical exercises should be required of 
all students. It was many years, however, before all of these ends 
were accomplished. A temporary gymnasium supplied the needs of 
students until 1883, when the present gymnasium and armory hall 
was erected. In the same year Edward Hitchcock, jr., was elected 
acting professor of physical culture, and has since been professor of 
physical culture and director of the gymnasium. Physical exercise is 
required during the winter term of all members of the freshman class. 
Lectures upon hygiene are also given each year in the fall term to 
members of the entering class, and all students upon entering the 
universitj^ are required to submit to a physical examination in order 
that the kind and extent of the physical exercise may be prescribed. 
Similar provisions are made for women students in the gymnasium 
connected with Sage College. By the generosity of Mr. J. J. Hager- 
man and Mr. W. H. Sage ample athletic grounds, known as Percy 
Field, have been provided for out-of-door sports. A commodious 
clubhouse has been erected upon these grounds, provided with dress- 
ing rooms and bathrooms, for the use of students taking part in athletic 
exercises. 

The library was organized by Prof. Willard Fiske in 1868, and con- 
tinued in his charge until his resignation in 1883, since which time it 
has been administered by George W. Harris, who had been an assist- 
ant to Professor Fiske since 1873. Andrew C. White has been an 
assistant librarian since 1889, and Willard H. Austin since 1892. 
George L. Burr, professor of mediaeval history, has been since 1890 in 
special charge of the President White library, for which a special room in 
the library building is reserved. The nucleus of the library consisted 
of the Anthon collection of classical literature and philology, the Bopp 
collection in philology and oriental literature, the Ezra Cornell col- 
lection in agriculture, and the collection of modern scientific works 
purchased by the university; in all, something like 15,000 volumes. 
To this has been added the Goldwin Smith library of historical 
works, publications of the British patent office, the White architec- 
tural library, the Kelley mathematical library, the Sparks library of 
American history, the May collection relating to slavery, the Schuyler 
collection of folklore and Russian history, the Rhaeto-Romanic col- 
lection, the President White historical library, the Zarncke library 
of Germanic philology and literature, the Dante collection, the Spi- 
noza collection, various other similar collections, and the yearly pur- 
chases of volumes and sets by the university. The law library is made 
up mainly of the Merritt King collection and the N. C. Moak collec- 
tion. At the end of its first thirty years the University library con- 
tained 183,804 volumes and 35,000 pamphlets, and the law library 




i MJLm J L 



CORNELL UNIVERSITY. 383 

about 26,504 volumes. These libraries have been largely gifts of 
generous donors, the chief of whom are President White, Mrs. Board- 
man and Mrs. Williams, Willard Fiske, Goldwin Smith, William Kel- 
ley, Eugene Schuyler, and William 11. Sage; ex-Governor Flower is the 
donor of the Flower veterinary library. The library owes its build- 
ing and its permanent endowment to the generosity of Henry W. 
Sage, who erected the building at a cost of over a quarter of a million 
of dollars, and provided the library with a permanent endowment of 
$300,000. The library is managed by a body known as the library 
council, consisting of the president of the university, the librarian, a 
member of the board of trustees, and four members of the university 
faculty. The law library is administered by the law faculty, and is 
in charge of a librarian. Since 1893 the librarian has been A. H. R. 
Fraser. 

A summer school was first organized in 1892, and courses were 
given in botany, chemistry, mathematics, philosophy, physics, English, 
French, German, drawing, and physical training. It was, however, 
not officially a part of the university system, but was conducted by 
professors as a voluntarj?- undertaking. In subsequent years the 
courses were increased by Greek, Latin, history, j)olitical science, law, 
and some other subjects. It continued upon this basis down to and 
including the summer of 1898. By recent action of the trustees a 
summer session has been added as a part of the general university 
scheme, and hereafter such courses will be given as are specially fitted 
for the needs of teachers. Under this plan the summer session is 
officially a six weeks' term of the academic year, and all professors 
are instructors in and after 1899 are regularly appointed and paid by 
the university. 

VII. 

THE STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY. 

A. The Number op Students. 

The number of students actually matriculated upon the books of 
the university during its first thirty years (excluding those in the 
summer school and in the winter school in agriculture) was 10,759. 
Of these, 3,599 were enrolled during the seventeen years of President 
White's administration, 3,252 during the seven years of President 
Adams's administration, and the balance during the first six years 
of President Schurman's administration. The largest number of 
matriculates in any one year down to 1887-88 was in the first year of 
the university. Four hundred and fourteen students presented them- 
selves and were accepted during the opening year and 457 during the 
twentieth year. There has been a steady increase since that date, 
and in the thirtieth year there were 657 matriculates. The smallest 
number in any one year was in 1880-81, when only 125 matriculated. 



384 



HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IK NEW YORK. 



The number of first degrees conferred down to June, 1898, was 4,235. 
The number of advanced degrees was 520, of which 129 were doctors' 
degrees. Of the first degrees conferred, 476 were in arts, 52 in litera- 
ture, and 418 in philosophy, making 946 in courses requiring Latin 
or Latin and Greek for admission and graduation. In letters 259 first 
degrees were conferred, in science and letters (degree B. S.) 223, and 
in science 539 (of which 8 were in engineering). This makes a total 
of 1,013 degrees in courses requiring neither Latin nor Greek. The 
total number of degrees in the department of arts and sciences was 
therefore 1,959, of wliich 946 were in classical courses, 482 in modern 
language courses, and 531 in scientific courses. The first degrees 
conferred in the technical and professional courses were as follows: 
Agriculture, 103; architecture, 174; mechanical engineering, 918 (of 
which 461 were in electrical engineering); civil engineering, 459; 
veterinary science, 11; pharmacy, 3; law, 608; total, 2,276. 

The matriculations, attendance, and degrees for each year of the 
university are shown by the following table : 



Year. 


Matricu- 
lates. 


Attend- 
ance. 


First 
degrees. 


Advanced 
degrees. 


1868-69 


414 
313 
260 
308 
188 
203 
200 
219 
333 
180 
160 
149 
135 
133 
153 
209 
251 
273 
387 
457 
529 
505 
496 
605 
658 
684 
516 
593 
680 
657 


414 

583 

609 

597 

539 

509 

533 

543 

561 

539 

505 

463 

399 

384 

406 

461 

575 

649 

839 

1,022 

1.229 

i;329 

1,390 

1,538 

1,700 

1,801 

1,689 

1,702 

1,808 

1,835 


16 

23 

41 

68 

95 

65 

50 

63 

71 

67 

67 

78 

83 

64 

65 

61 

61 

82 

92 

137 

158 

242 

229 

282 

313 

272 

312 

327 

387 

375 




1869-70 


1 


1870-71 


1871-73 .., . 


3 
3 
8 


1872-73 


1873-74 


1874-75 


3 

10 


1875-76 


1876-77 _ 


g 


1877-78 


3 


1878-79 


4 


1879-80 _ 

1880-81 ... 


4 
3 


1881-83 


3 


1883-83 . . 


6 

4 


1883-84 


1884^85 __.. 


10 


1885-86 


13 


1886-87 - '.. 


4 


1887-88 


12 


1888-89. 


g 


1889-90 - 


33 


1890-91 


36 


1891-93 


33 


1893-93 


46 


1893-94 


76 


1894-95 


53 


1895-96 


53 


1896-97 


44 


1897-98 


49 







The decrease in attendance from 1877 to 1881 has been attributed 
to various causes. Probably a combination of causes contributed to 
the result. The university was at that time in sore financial straits 
and little or nothing could be done in the way of enlarging the facilities 
and equipment of existing departments, or of creating new ones. This 
was also the period of President White's absence as minister of the 
United States at Berlin. With the beginning of the academic year 
1881-82 the number of new students, and consequently the aggre- 
gate attendance, steadily increased. It was at about this time that 
the department of history and political science was practically created 



CORNELL UNIVEESITY. 385 

and new professors were called to take charge of it. A little later 
the Sibley College of Mechanical Engineering was reorganized and 
strengthened and the increase in attendance there was very marked. 
Attendance has always been affected also by the requirements for 
admission. During the early years of the university these were not 
verj^ exacting, except in the courses of arts, literature, and philosophy. 
At various subsequent times the requirements for admission to the 
other general courses and to the technical courses have been raised. 
At present the requirements for admission to all the courses are about 
equally exacting in the amount of time required for preparation. 
Altogether it may fairly be said that the entrance requirements are 
now as high, measured by the amount of time required for prepara- 
tion, as in any of the leading universities where the requirements are 
based mainly on Latin, Greek, and mathematics. 

B. The Admission of Women. 

Both Mr. Cornell and Mr. White had expressed the earnest wish in 
their addresses at the inaugural ceremonies that the university might 
speedily offer every advantage necessary for the higher education of 
young women equally with young men. "Speaking entirely for 
myself," said the latter, "I would say that I am perfectly willing to 
undertake the experiment as soon as it shall be possible to do so." 

The possibility came sooner than he had ventured to hope. Mr. 
Henry W. Sage, upon the evening of the inaugural day, went quietly 
to President White and said: "When you are ready to carry out the 
idea of educating young women as thoroughly as j^oung men, I will 
provide the endowment to enable you to do so." ^ Mr^ Sage's purpose 
strengthened with the growth of the university, and shortly after, all 
other difficulties being then practically removed, he renewed his offer. 
A committee, of which President White was chairman, made an 
exhaustive study of all questions relating to coeducation, visited the 
leading institutions in which it had been tried, corresponded with 
eminent educators, and, in a report which reviews at length the whole 
problem, recommended the acceptance of the offer. ^ That offer was 
of an endowment of $250,000 upon the simple condition that "instruc- 
tion shall be afforded to young women, by the Cornell University, as 
broad and thorough as that now afforded to young men."^ In April, 
1872, the offer was formally accepted by the trustees, and women were 
admitted to all the privileges of the university. 

Probably this action b}'' the trustees conferred no privileges upon 
women which they might not already have claimed under the charter; 
but the noble gift of Mr. Sage made it possible to offer to such as 

^ Proceedings at the laying of the corner stone of the Sage College (Ithaca, 1873). 
Remarks of President White, p. 6. 
*Ibid, pp. 69-134. 
2Ibid, p. 130. 

3176 25 



386 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

should come llie comforts and conveniences wliich, however dispen- 
sable in the case of men, were absolutely necessary for the care of 
any considerable number of young women. The Sage College is sim- 
ply a home for women students, and in no sense an "annex." The 
women go into all classes with the men, pursue the same studies, hear 
the same lectures, work in the same laboratories. Mr. Sage simply 
provided them with a home where, under the care and advice of a 
lady principal, they are freed from the vexations and embarrassments 
of the ordinary boarding house. 

This fine building was erected and furnished by Mr. Sage at a cost 
of $150,000, and received from him for its care and management 
$100,000 more. It was opened for the reception of the women stu- 
dents in the fall of 1875. 

Eighteen young women applied for entrance to the university the 
same year (1872-73) that the trustees. passed the formal resolution for 
their admission. From that time the number has steadily increased. 
In 1872-73 the proportion of women students was 1 in 40; in 1882-83 
it was 1 in 8; in 1892-93 it was a little over 1 in 8. The total number 
in attendance in 1892-93 was 221. 

In the report of President Adams for 1890-91 occurs the following 
passage : 

In former reports I have frequently called attention to the general good stand- 
ing in their classes of the young women in the university. It is gratifying to 
know that the average proficiency of this class of students continues to be highly 
creditable. Indeed, if we were to judge of the comparative rank of the young 
women from the number of those who are unable to pass the examinations, we 
should be obliged to infer that their proficiency was considerably greater than 
that of the young men. Of those dropped fi'om the university or from one class 
to another for deficiencies in scholarship, the proportion is far less than the pro- 
portion of the class as a whole. For obvious reasons this is not a correct means 
of comparison; but when every modifying circumstance is taken into considera- 
tion, we are forced to conclude that the average standing of the classes is made 
somewhat higher by the presence of women. (Pp. 33-33.) 

In the report of President Schurman for 1897-98 is the following: 
Coeducation is so firmly established and so thoroughly accepted at Cornell 
University, it is so much a fundamental idea of the institution, that any reasoning 
in favor of the principle or indication of it drawn from experience could not but 
seem a wasteful and ridiculous excess of words. There is no call even to dis- 
cuss the workings of the system, as the presence of women at Cornell on equal 
terms with men has not created any specific problems for the authorities of the 
university. 

C. Provisions for the Accommodation of Students. 

In his report on organization. President White recommended that 
the university make no provisions for dormitories other than rooms 
that could be spared for that purpose in the regular university build- 
ings. This policy has been continued down to the present time save 
in the case of Sage College, which was erected by private funds for 
the accommodation of women students. Cascadilla Place was from the 



CORNELL UNIVERSITY. 387 

first used mainly for housing professors and students, and is still put to 
the same use. No rooms in any other building are now available for this 
purj)ose. The great body of students are scattered throughout the 
city, or find quarters in the chapter houses erected by the various fra- 
ternities. The large increase in numbers during the past few years 
has given rise to some discomfort, but on the whole the demand for 
suitable rooms has been rapidly supplied by private enterprise, and 
the university still adheres in practice to its original decision. 

During recent years, however, there has been decidedly a stronger 
demand on the part of the students for dormitory accommodations 
and a marked desire on the part of university authorities to comply 
with the demand as soon as practicable. At present there are no 
funds available for this purpose, and it is doubtful whether there 
will be in the near future. It is hoped, however, that private 
generosity will come to the aid of the university in this matter, and 
that suitable dormitories will be erected on the university grounds, 
similar to those at many of the other leading Eastern universities. 
The cost of living in Ithaca has increased in recent years, owing to the 
increase in the number of students, and it is believed that with dor- 
mitories and commons students can live more cheaply and more com- 
fortably than they now do in priv^ate houses.^ 

Reference has been made to the erection of chapter houses by col- 
lege fraternities. These have, to a considerable extent, supplied the 
place of dormitories. These fraternities, owing to the increasing 
number of their graduates, are able to provide the necessary funds 
for the erection and maintenance of the house. Some of these have 
been built on private grounds and some on the university campus. 
They are in general beautiful and commodious structures, accommo- 
dating from twelve to twenty men. It is the policy of the university 
to encourage the building of these houses under proper restrictions, 
and to this end it has granted sites to those fraternities that desired 
to build on the university domain. 

The Sage College for women has, until recent years, been ample for 
the accommodation of most of the women students. It became, in 
later years, overcrowded, and an addition was made to it in 1895, 
The college is simply a home for women, under the charge of a lady 
principal, and affords the necessary comforts and cojiveniences for 
women residing at the university. 

Reference has already been made to the provisions for the physical 
culture of students, both in the university gymnasium for men and 
in the Sage gymnasium for women. 

' In his report for 1896-97, President Schurman gives the results of an investiga- 
tion into the prices actually paid by students for board and lodging. His results are 
thus stated: Forty per cent of the students pay $1.50 or less per week for lodging, 
and 35 per cent pay from $L51 to $2.50. For board, 50 per cent pay $3 a week or 
less, and 40 per cent pay from $3 to $4. 



388 HISTOBY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

D. Self Support by Students. 

It had been a favorite idea with Mr. Cornell from the first to pro- 
vide for the self-support of poor students. In pursuance of this idea 
he published in the New York Tribune a letter to the effect that 
young men could support themselves at the university by their own 
labor while carrying on their studies. He argued that if one man 
could support himself and a wife on the labor of a day, another man 
could support himself alone on the labor of half a day. In addition 
to his theory he had the demonstration bt his own experience in which 
he had acquired a fair business education during the intervals of 
severe toil. On these premises he based the not illogical conclusion 
that, given a fair opportunity such as he purposed that the university 
should provide, any energetic young man could gain a college educa- 
tion and support himself at the same time. In his address at the 
inauguration proceedings he said : 

I believe tliat we have made the beginning of an institution which will prove 
highly beneficial to the poor young men and the pogr young women of our coun- 
try. This is one thing which we have not finished, but in the course of time we 
hope to reach stich a state of perfection as will enable any one by honest efforts 
and earnest labor to secure a thorough practical, scientific, or classical education. 

Mr. Cornell's idea was adopted, though with some modifications, by 
his colleagues. In his "report on organization " Mr. White argued 
that previous experiment had not, as claimed, shown the futility of 
the plan and that as Cornell would have in this respect advantages 
possessed by none of its predecessors, it ought at least to try the 
experiment. In his inaugural address he approaches the subject with 
more caution and expresses a doubt whether unskilled laborers could 
do much toward their own support while pursuing a college course. 
Nevertheless he pledges the university to a fair trial of the experi- 
ment and an honest effort to solve the problem, and declares that 
"no class of students shall be regarded by us with more favor than 
those who work with their hands that they may work with their 
brains." The announcements in the first registers, or annual cata- 
logues, were guarded and discreet. It was recommended that no 
student should come entirely without resources; it was stated that 
the university could guarantee employment to no one ; and in subse- 
quent publications it was announced that the number of students 
applying for labor constantly exceeded the number that the university 
could employ. 

The idea of self-supporting labor combined with collegiate studies 
proved, in spite of this precautionary announcement, a very taking 
one. Great numbers of young men presented themselves, eager to be 
set at work and to begin their college course. A few of these could 
undertake skilled labor, but the great majority were unskilled in any 
trade and a considerable number were unfit for labor of any kind. 
The embarrassment arising from this ]3roved very great and often 



CORNELL UNIVERSITY. 389 

extremely painful. The organization of the labor corps was in the 
charge of W. A. Woodward, at that time business manager of the 
university. A daily record of matters connected with tlie business 
department was kept for the first few years bj;^ Mr. Woodward and 
much of this has to do with the difficulties he experienced in provid- 
ing work for students and in supplying them with rooms and board 
at terms moderate enough to meet their needs. The following extracts 
from his record will give some idea of the conditions surrounding the 
experiment : 

October 10, 1868: Several students reported a willingness to have a less elabo- 
rate supply on the table it' the price can be reduced to $3. 

October 13, 1868: We propose to deduct 50 cents per week from the board of each 
student who will use water instead of tea or coffee. Many students represent 
themselves as too poor to pay their board without work and large pay. In sev- 
eral cases they demand board, room rent, lights, fuel, and tuition for services. 
Several notices to quit are served on me. They consent to remain on being- rea- 
soned with. 

October 14, 1868: A student applies for return of his money. Wants to go home. 
He is 15 and evidently homesick. Says his head aches and his lessons are too 
long. Adopted the rule not to return money to students who get homesick or 
wish to leave the institution. X. reports himself recovered. Concludes to stay 
and requests that we will not send the letter to his mother. 

October 14, 1868: Thirty students were set to work at 2 p. m. Some were 
employed in taking down the old stone store on Eddy street, others removing tim- 
ber, shingles, stone, etc. Three were engaged in cutting out the road on Mrs. 
Cornell's farm north of the bridge across Cascadilla Creek and fifteen or twenty 
on landscape work, removing the moimd of earth south of Cascadilla building and 
adjoining Mr. Gile's property, removing the earth to grade southwest of Casca- 
dilla building. Several students distinguished themselves for their ability in 
management of work to advantage, and all woi'k with alacrity. C. is Al . N. , R. , 
and many others showed themselves superior to any skilled laborers. 

October 15, 1868: Thirty students were employed Directed C. to note the effl- 
c ency of each workman and report as to value of services. Mr. Cornell thinks 
that there are some carpenter students who have their tools with them. We can 
employ all such profitably at fair wages. 

October 16, 1868: Repeated my instructions to Mr. B. to discharge his hired 
waiters and employ students wh6 were willing to do duty. He says he can get 
plenty of them. 

October 17, 1868: Corps of students were employed this morning, using all the 
too's that we had on hand, and about twenty continued to work all day, while 
about the same number worked but half the day (Saturday). 

October 24, 1868: An increased number of students ask for labor. The matter 
of labor, as organized, has become quite popular and pleasing to those who per- 
form it. My best success is to organize squads of seven and an overseer who works 
with them, making eight persons, but to-day the number has so increased as to 
overflow our squads, requiring more companies, which we are organizing. 

The compensation paid to students for work at this time seems to 
have been at the rate of from II to 12 per day, according to the kind 
and quality of the work. Carpenter work seems to have been paid at 
the highest rate. The list of labor corps furnished by the superin- 
tendent of the grounds and buildings on November 1, 1868, numbers 
over 70; 20 or 30 more seem to have been employed by other univer- 



390 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

sity officials. A considerable number of students were employed in 
tbe construction of tlie university buildings. The amount paid for 
student labor during tlie first year of the university was from $800 to 
11,000 per month. 

The university seems to have suffered somewhat from the invasion 
of doubtful characters, who were attracted by the possibility of earn- 
ing a living with a few hours' labor each day and at the same time 
acquiring the honor of becoming connected with a university. Mr. 
Woodward records that "a fellow from the Rochester penitentiary 
has given out that he is employed at Cascadilla House," and again, 
that a student who had been dismissed from Harvard was living in 
Cascadilla and had failed to meet his bills. 

Notwithstanding the difficulties connected with the labor experi- 
ment, it was carried on for several j^ears. During the first three years 
from $8,000 to 110,000 per year was paid for student labor. This fell 
to about 16,000 the fourth year, and steadily decreased until in 1882-83 
only $1,400 was paid. From 1868 to 1883 a total of over $68,000 was 
so expended.^ 

Since the establishment of a system of university scholarships and 
the students' loan fund the universitj^ has ceased to offer any consid- 
erable opportunities to students for manual labor. The experiment, 
while it enabled a considerable number of students to pay wholly or 
in ijart the exi^ense of their university course, was considered by the 
trustees a failure. Never having formed any part of the original plan 
as embraced in the land-grant act or the charter, and having been 
adopted mainly out of deference to the philanthropic purposes of Mr. 
Cornell, its failure could arouse no stronger sentiment than a sincere 
regret that so noble a plan should prove impracticable. Even so, its 
impracticability seems to consist not so much in the idea of combin- 
ing self-supporting labor with collegiate studies as in the attempt of 
the university to supply the necessary labor. Even at the present 
time it not infrequently happens that students are able to do much 
toward their own support by laboring a few hours each day in such 
occupations as are open to them. Those have succeeded best who 
have been skilled in some occupation for which there is a demand at 
the university or in the town. During the existence of the univer- 
sity printing office, now discontinued, a considerable number of stu- 
dents supported themselves by typesetting. If a young man in good 
health has a trade and an opportunity to follow it, there seems to be 
no reason whj^ Mr. Cornell's idea is not a sound one, so far as such a 
student is concerned. The failure comes, under existing conditions, 
mainly in the case of those who can offer only unskilled labor. 

Nor can it be said that even as to these the plan is really impracti- 
cable. Given the opportunity to labor, and there are many who could, 
and would, earn enough by working a few hours each day to go far 

'Alumni Report, by James Fraser Gluck, 1884, p. 17. 



COENELL UNIVEESITY. 391 

toward their support at the university. There are now men very high 
in scientific, professional, and educational circles whose opportunities 
were found not only in lecture rooms and laboratories of Cornell, but 
also in the trenches dug and the stones chiseled in the making of 
campus and buildings. Even in the face of the decreed failure of the 
student-labor idea, it can not positively be said that the plan of com- 
bining manual labor with collegiate study may not yet be shown to 
be not only the most practicable, but even the most useful and the 
noblest form into which a college can cast its endowments for under- 
graduate scholarships. 

E. Fellowships and Scholarships. 

The original endowment for fellowships and scholarships ali Cornell 
grew out of what at first appeared a great calamity. In 1872 the uni- 
versity was in sore financial straits, and for a time it seemed that all 
new plans would have to be abondoned and even some existing depart- 
ments curtailed or abolished. It was, perhaps, the darkest hour the 
university has ever seen. At this juncture Ezra Cornell, John 
McGraw, Henry W. Sage, Hiram Sibley, and Andrew D. White con- 
tributed in the aggregate the sum of $155,000 for the purpose of tiding 
over the diificulty. Through the thoughtfulness of the Hon. George 
W. Schuyler, until his death a valuable member of the board of 
trustees, the condition was inserted in the gift that whenever the 
university should have sufficient funds for the purpose the sum then 
contributed by the five trustees named should be set apart for an 
endowment for fellowships and scholarships. The proposition caused 
some amusement when read, but was accepted.^ What seemed so 
improbable in 1872 was really accomplished in 1884. The total sum 
of 1155,000 was then set aside for the purpose contemplated by Mr. 
Schuyler's proposition, and in addition $50,000 of Mr. Sage's endow- 
ment of Sage College was made available for scholarships for women 
only. With the income from these sums nine undergraduate scholar- 
ships were annually awarded upon competitive examination, each 
paying the holder the sum of $200 a year for four years. 

Subsequently the three scholarships for women were withdrawn, 
but in 1889 three additional scholarships, open to all students, were 
added, so that the number still stood at nine granted yearly, or thirty- 
six in all. The term of a scholarship was subsequently limited to two 
years, so that eighteen are now awarded annually. Later the Frank 
William Padgham scholarship in mechanical engineering was endowed 
by Amos Padgham, of Sja^acuse, as a memorial to his son, who died 
while a student of the university. It is open only to students of the 
public schools of Syracuse. 

For graduate students there were first provided seven fellowships, to 

' Unpublished MS. in possession of President White; Annual Report by Presi- 
dent White, June 20, 1883, pp. 83, 84. 



392 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK, 

which was added an eighth in 1885. By the terms of the gift of his 
library in 1887, President White provided for two fellowships in history 
and political science of the annual value of $500 each, which became 
available in 1891. With the establishment of the Susan Linn Sage 
School of Philosophy, three additional fellowships in that department 
were added of the value of $400 each, and also six graduate scholar- 
ships of the value of 1200 each. Subsequently there were established 
two fellowships in political economy and finance, two in Greek and 
Latin, and one in American history. In all, down to 1893, there were 
eighteen fellowships and six graduate scholarships established. 

In October, 1893, there were added to the above five additional fel- 
lowships and ten graduate scholarships, and in 1896 the Oliver grad- 
uate scholarship in mathematics. These and all existing fellowships 
and graduate scholarships were placed at $400 and $200 per year, 
respectively. In 1894, upon the adoption of the requirement that 
graduates should pay the regular tuition fee, the fellowships were 
raised to $500 each, and the President White fellowships to $600 each, 
and the graduate scholarships to $300 each. There are now awarded 
annually twenty-three fellowships and sixteen graduate scholarships 
in the general and technical departments. 

The giving of scholarships and fellowships was a favorite idea with 
President White, and the establishment of the system was among the 
last of the official acts of his administration. In his last report he says : 

Nothing that this board has ever done has, in my judgment, shown its value 
. more immediately and conclusively. No doubt the offering of these scholarships 
was one of the leading causes of the great and sudden increase in the number of 
students entering last year. But there is another result far more important than 
that, and this is that a much larger proportion of students entered with a high grade 
of preparation. . . . It is to be hoped that as time goes on the number of these 
university scholarships may be gradually increased. To endow more of them 
would be a most worthy exercise of private munificence. 

In addition to these university scholarships there is established, 
under the charter of the university, one annual scholarship for each 
assembly district in the State, such scholarship entitling the holder to 
free tuition for four years. Down to January, 1895, there were 128 
assembly districts, and 512 students were therefore entitled to free 
tuition each year. Since that date there have been 150 assembly dis- 
tricts and 600 free scholarships. Reckoning tuition at 1100 a year (it is 
$125 in some courses), this gives an aggregate annual value of $50,000. 
If the actual cost of educating students be considered, the total is 
much larger, as is pointed out by President Schurman in his annual 
report for 1892-93. ^ In addition, the university educates free of cost 
all students in agriculture. 

Taking into account all its free gifts to education, Cornell bestows 
annually $50,000 in State scholarships, $7,200 in undergraduate schol- 

1 Page 49. 



CORNELL UlSriVEESITY. 393 

arsliips, 14,800 in graduate scholarships, and 111,700 in fellowships, 
or a total of about $75,000. 

F. College Societies. 

College societies naturally divide themselves into two classes, those 
which are organized for literary or other educational purposes and 
those which are organized for social purposes. Of the first class there 
have been many at various times during the history of the university, 
and are manj^ at the present. The purely literarj^ society, however, 
which follows the traditions of the old literary societies of the Eastern 
universities has never flourished at Cornell. The Philolathean, the 
Irving, and the Curtis have all disappeared after a few years of strug- 
gles and doubtful success. The debating clubs have had a somewhat 
more successful career. Among the earliest of these was the Cornell 
Debating Club, which, however, ceased to exist some years ago. It 
was replaced by the Cornell Congress, an organization formed in imi- 
tation of the House of Representatives and devoted mainl}^ to the 
discussion of jDublic and political questions. It has alwaj^s been a 
successful and useful organization. Within the last two j^ears other 
debating clubs have been formed, chiefly through the efforts of Prof. 
Duncan Campbell Lee, and have had a fair measure of success. Inter- 
collegiate debates have been held during the past six years with the 
University of Pennsylvania. 

A large number of societies connected with various departments of 
work are in existence, such as the Classical Association, History and 
Political Science Association, Natural History Society, the Agricul- 
tural Association, the Architectural Club, etc. 

The social clubs are for the most part Greek letter societies, main- 
taining some semblance of secrecj' in their organization and proced- 
ure. Of these, between thirty and fortj^ are now in existence, and 
most of them occupy houses in which their members lodge, and some 
have erected structures specially for this purpose. 

Those members of the university who do not belong to Greek letter 
fraternities are generallj^ known as "Independents." At manj^ times 
in the history of student life at Cornell the relations between the fra- 
ternity men and the independents, especially with refei-ence to mat- 
ters of class politics, have been strained. In one or two instances 
senior classes have had two distinct organizations, one composed 
mainlj^ of fraternity members and the other of independents. In later 
years, however, this opposition between the two elements has largely 
disappeared, and divisions upon matters of student concern are gen- 
erally along other lines. 

Gr. Students' Publications. 

The first student publication was the Cornell Era, which, was begun 
within a few months after the opening of the university in 1868. It 



394 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUOATIOT^ IN NEW YORK. 

was originally published by members of the Greek letter fraternities, 
but afterwards passed under the control of editorial boards chosen 
from the two upper classes. It is still continued as a weekly publi- 
cation, being now in its thirty-first volume. 

The Cornell Times was begun in 1873, as a rival of the Era, but was 
continued for only a short time, and ceased publication in 1874. 

The Cornellian, which is the college annual, was begun in 1869, 
under the editorship of the Greek letter fraternities. In 1883 it passed 
into the control of editors selected from the junior class, the class of 
1884 being the first to issue the annual, which is still published 
annually by editors selected by the juniors in the university. The 
Cornell Review, a monthly publication, was begun in 1873 and ceased 
publication in 1886. The Cornell Magazine was the successor of the 
Review, and has been published monthly since 1888. 

The Cornell Sun, a daily paper, was begun in 1880 and is still pub- 
lished by editors selected from the various classes of the university. 

The Crank was begun by students in the department of mechanical 
and electrical engineering in 1886. This name was changed in 1890 
to the Sibley College Journal of Engineering, and under this title it is 
still published. 

Two illustrated papers have been i)ublished by students of the 
university. The first, known as Cocaigne, was begun in the spring of 
1878 and continued during the rest of that college year. The second, 
known as The Widow, was begun in the fall of 1894, and has since 
been regularly issued biweekly. 

A single number of The Cornell Law Journal was published in June, 
1894. In the fall of that jesiv the plan of the publication was changed 
and a law periodical known as The New York Law Review was issued 
in Januarj^, 1895, but ceased publication in June, 1895. 

A quarterly periodical known as The Bulletin was first issued by 
the University Christian Association in 1886, but ceased publication 
in 1896. 

H. Athletics. 

The early athletic interests of Cornell were mainly confined to boat- 
ing. The first boat club seems to have been organized in 1871, and the 
first regatta was held on Cayuga Lake in 1872. It was not until 1873 
that the university took part in an intercollegiate race, in competition 
with eleven colleges. It again contested in 1874 with nine colleges. 
The success of the crew in these races was not marked, as it won only 
fourth place in the first and fifth place in the second, but in 1875, 
under the management of Captain Ostrom, the Cornell navy began a 
series of victories wliich has continued with few interruptions down 
to the present time. In that year an intercollegiate 'varsity race and 
also an intercollegiate race between freshman crews were held on Sara- 
toga Lake. In both of these races Cornell was successful, in the first 
rowing against twelve colleges and in the second against three freshman 



CORNELL UNIVERSITY. 395 

crews. It was on this triimiplial occasion that the Cornell yell is said 
to have been invented. 

The genesis of the yell is a matter of some doubt, one explanation 
being that it is merely an inverted form of the Yale refrain, ' ' Eli, eli, 
eli, ell," the Cornell form being " Cornell, I'ell, 'ell, 'ell," which devel- 
oped speedily into "Cornell, I yell, yell, yell, Cornell." 

In 1876 Cornell was again successful at Saratoga in a race against 
five colleges, and the freshman crew in a race against two colleges. 
After this year the Intercollegiate Rowii^ig Association was disbanded. 
In 1878 the freshman crew was successful against the Harvard crew. 
In 1879 the crew was sent to Saratoga, but no competitors appeared to 
contest the race. Since the disbanding of the Intercollegiate Rowing 
Association the Cornell navy has contested with various colleges at 
various times, and for ten years, from 1885 to 1894, it did not suffer a 
single defeat. In 1895 it was defeated in the races at Henley and in 
a race with Columbia and Pennsylvania on the Hudson. In 1896 the 
'varsity crew won in a race on the Hudson over Harvard, Pennsyl- 
vania, and Columbia. In 1897 it won in a race with Harvard and Yale, 
and in another with Pennsylvania and Columbia. In 1898 it won over 
Harvard and Yale at New London, but was defeated by Pennsylvania 
in a race at Saratoga. Since 1888 all races have been in eights. 

In baseball, football, and general athletics there have been 'varsity 
teams for many years. 

The entire athletic interests of Cornell were united in 1889 under the 
corporate name of the Cornell Athletic Association. The trustees of 
this association, seven in number, unite with two undergraduates from 
the Navy, two from the baseball club, two from the football club, and 
two from the athletic club to constitute the athletic council. Under 
the direction of this council the athletic interests of the university 
have been centralized and systematized. The council has exercised 
a potent influence in the management of the finances of the associa- 
tion and in the control of athletic contests. Little, if any, complaint 
of athletic excesses has been made since the organization of this council. 

In 1889 William H. Sage gave to the athletic association an athletic 
field of nearly 10 acres, and J. J. Hagerman, of Colorado Springs, gave 
the necessary funds to lay out and equip the field. These grounds 
are known as Percy Field, in honor of one of the sons of Mr. Hagerman. 
There have been built upon the field a quarter-mile cinder track, a 
clubhouse, and a grand stand, and all contests in football, baseball, 
and track athletics are held there. The field has been enlarged by 
an added gift from Mr. Sage, and by purchase. 

I. Government op Students. 

Government of students at Cornell has naturally presented the 
same problems and difficulties as at similar institutions. There has 
been, however, as little paternalism as possible, and the students have 
enjoyed the greatest liberty consistent with good order. In the 



396 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

absence of dormitories it has not been necessary for the university 
authorities to intervene in student affairs except where there has been 
a flagrant breach of public order or of university regulations. The 
most serious difficulties have grown out of what is known as "class 
spirit." This has exhibited itself in cane rushes, attempts to disturb 
or break up class banquets, and other similar disturbances, but of 
late 3^ears this has disappeared. 

During the first year or so most of the students were under military 
discipline, and comparatively little difficulty was experienced in main- 
taining order. Nevertheless, there seem to have been two or three out- 
breaks of "students' frolic," and on one occasion there was strong 
suspicion that students were responsible for the burning of a small 
building to which they had some not unreasonable objections. Prob- 
ably no class ever entered a university which contained so many and 
different elements as the first class which entered Cornell. Some of 
these men had naturally acquired habits which were not in keeping 
with their new surroundings, and the faculty and executive committee 
were troubled to prevent such students from becoming a source of dis- 
turbance among the other students and a reproach to the university. 

It was a part of President White's original plan that the students 
of the university should govern themselves, but no definite plan to 
this end was devised and put into practice during his administration. 
Matters of discipline were brought before the faculty, and after inves- 
tigation action was taken by that body. The same course was pursued 
during the administration of President Adams. For a short period 
recentl}^ a plan was in operation for the government of students by a 
body selected by themselves and presided over by the president of the 
university. This self-govei-nment council investigated al! matters of 
discipline and decided upon the guilt or innocence of the accused. 
In case of conviction it recommended the penalty to be inflicted, and 
then certified its action to the facult3^ The faculty reserved the 
power to approve or reverse the action of the council. As a matter of 
fact, it never failed to approve such action. The whole question of 
student government seemed to be very much simplified by this experi- 
ment, and the results, while not escaping criticism in some quarters, 
were such as to encourage the belief that self-government was feasi- 
ble. Upon the reorganization of the faculties in 1896 the scheme 
dropped out of view and has never since been revived. At present 
discipline is in the hands of the special faculties, each exercising 
discipline over its own students. 

VIII. 

THROUGH THREE ADMINISTRATIONS. 

A. The Administration of President White. 

It remains to sketch briefly the administrations of the three presi- 
dents of Cornell. Much that might be gathered under this head has 



OOKNELL UNIVEESITY. 397 

been anticipated in the preceding cliapters, but many characteristic 
features remain to be mentioned. 

President White's administration lasted from his election in October, 
18G6, to his resignation in June, 1885, a period a little short of nine- 
teen years. During this time he was twice absent in Europe, first in 
search of health, from 1876 to 1878, and again as United States minis- 
ter to Germany, from 1879 to 1881. During these absences the uni- 
versity was administered by the vice-president, William Channing 
Russel, who retired in 1881. 

1. EDUCATIONAL GROWTH. 

The development of the curriculum and the growth of departments 
have already been sketched in a preceding chapter. It will be seen 
from the statement there made that the founder's ideas of the union of 
liberal and practical education and large liberty in choice of studies 
were steadily and constantly developed during this period. New sub- 
jects were added and new professorships established as the funds at 
the disposal of the university seemed to justify. There does not seem, 
however, to have been any marked divergence from the general plan 
outlined in the report on organization. The university register for 
1884-85, the last one published during President White's administra- 
tion, shows that the division of courses into "general" and "special" 
still existed. Of the general courses there were five — arts, litera- 
ture, philosophy, science, and science and letters Of the special 
courses there were eleven — agriculture, architecture, analytical chem- 
istry, chemistry and physics, civil engineering, electrical engineering, 
mechanic arts, mathematics, natural history, medical prejjaratory, 
and history and political science. The five general courses were 
merely a modification and development of the five general courses 
recommended by President White in his original report, the main 
difference, as already pointed out, being that in place of one dis- 
tinctively optional course each course provided for certain required 
studies, consistent with the general character of the course, and at 
the san^e time left a reasonable number of hours in each term, vary- 
ing from three to twelve of the fifteen required, to be filled as the 
student should elect. This optional work was in the main confined 
to the junior and senior years, although in one or two courses there 
were some optional hours in the sophomore year. In the special 
courses, not so much latitude could, in the nature of the case, be 
expected, and for the most part the work in those courses was pre- 
scribed, save that in some there was an option among certain allied 
subjects, and in some, as mathematics, natural history, and history 
and political science, there was a moderate provision for election. 

There was steady improvement also in the quality of the work at 
the university. This was made possible by a gradual raising of the 
standard of admission and by an increase in the teaching corps. The 



398 HISTOEY OF HI'GHER EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

effect of the first was to insure a body of well prepared and disciplined 
students, and of the second to secure to professors the leisure neces- 
sary for advanced work. In most departments having any consider- 
able number of students one or more assistants, ranking as assistant 
professors or as instructors, were from time to time appointed to 
relieve the professor in charge from much of the routine work of the 
class room. The leisure thus secured was devoted to investigation in 
more advanced fields, into which students whose tastes lay in that 
direction were encouraged to enter. The introduction of seminary 
methods of study in literature, languages, history, political science, 
and like subjects, and the special and patient investigations in the 
field and laboratory, tended constantly, under these conditions, to 
strengthen and broaden the university idea. 

The success of the idea of liberty of choice in university students 
became more and more marked as the university expanded. This is 
seen not only in the extension given to the policy at Cornell, but 
in its adoption at other institutions. Indeed, so marked was the 
tendency among the latter as to lead to a hasty conclusion that one 
of these was the originator of the idea.^ It is not to be claimed, of 
course, that the idea originated at Cornell, for President Wayland 
had long before suggested the need of greater liberty in college 
courses, and President Tappan had introduced at the University of 
Michigan the device of parallel courses of study, though under con- 
ditions and limitations which made the experiment far from satisfac- 
tory. The originality of President White's plan lay in its adaptation 
of these earlier theories and experiments to new and untried conditions. 
There was, first, the great division of all courses into the general and 
special, with an ample number of parallel courses in each division; 
and second, the provision, especially in the general courses, for a 
generous amount of purely elective work. A large liberty of choice 
was thus granted the student at the outset of his academic life in the 
choice of a course or general line of study and later in the choice of 
th'e particular branches of study wanted in the chosen course. 

In one feature directly related to this liberty of choice Cornell could 
justly claim to be unique, and in this feature rests her claim to the 
leadership of the "new education." This feature was the scope and 
diversity of work from which the student might make his choice. It 
had been the aim of Mr. Cornell and Mr. White to build a university 
adapted to the growing needs of the nineteenth century. The union 
of the literary and practical courses of study upon an absolute equal- 
ity with a perfect liberty of choice in either the one field or the other, 
or in both, had been the outcome of this purpose. This it was that 
rendered Cornell from the first a unique educational experiment 
and rallied to her support the captains of industry as well as the 
progressive leaders of academic thought. Hitherto the university 



See statement in Thwing's American College, p. 30. 



i 



CORNELL UmVERSITY. 399 

liad seemed to exist solely for the professional and social classes. 
Cornell appealed equally to them, but extended her appeal to the indus- 
trial classes as well. It sought to touch every interest of the people 
with equal and impartial hand, bestowing upon all alike the educa- 
tional benefits of the nation and the founder. It thus dignified labor, 
whether at the forge or at the desk, and infused into higher education 
the dominant democratic spirit of the age. 

This bold challenge to old academic traditions did not pass unan- 
swered. The older colleges declared the experiment foredoomed to 
failure, and an eminent educator, now the president of a venerable 
and powerful university, gave it as his deliberate judgment that the 
practical spirit and the literary and scholastic spirit were incompati- 
ble within the same walls. ^ It has demonstrated the error of that 
judgment, while the rapid growth of the idea of such a union of liter- 
ary and practical studies, both in this country and England, has been 
a fine tribute to the wisdom and courage of the leaders of the ' ' new 
education." 

To sum up, it may be said that the development of that curriculum 
and the expansion of departments during President White's adminis- 
tration were merely the natural growth of the founder's ideas, with 
such modifications as were suggested by experience or rendered neces- 
sary by existing conditions. Literary and practical studies were added 
as means would permit. New courses were established. Old courses 
were modified or extended. Larger and fuller liberty was granted in 
the choice of studies within the courses. Absolute and perfect equal- 
ity was maintained among all departments. There was throughout 
a consistent purpose to reach the aim set up in the inaugural address: 
"The adaptation of the universitj'^ to the American people, to Amer- 
ican needs, and to our own times." 

3. MATERIAL GROWTH. 

The two buildings now known as Cascadilla Place and Morrill Hall 
soon proved wholly inadequate for the needs of the university. Early 
in 1869 a large wooden building was erected as a temporary expedient, 
but although building after building followed, this wooden structure 
proved a necessary refuge for more than one overcrowded department, 
and it was not until 1890 that it finally disappeared from the campus. 
In the fall of 1870 the north university building, now known as White 
Hall, and in architectural features the duplicate of Morrill Hall, was 
completed at a cost of over $80,000. In 1871 two friends of the "new 
education," both of whom were successful captains of industry, gave 
each a building as a testimonial of their interest in this efi:ort to reach 
and raise the industrial classes. The first was the McGraw Building, 
given by John McGraw; the second, Sibley College, given by Hiram 
Sibley. In 1875 Sage College, the gift of Henry W. Sage, was for- 

1 President Eliot in the Atlantic Monthly, vol. 23, p. 315. 



400 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN FEW YORK. 

mally dedicated, and in tile same year Sage Chapel was also given to 
the university by the same generous donor. To the Sage College was 
added in 1882, by Mr. Sage, the botanical laboratory and greenhouses. 
In 1871 President White built a handsome brick residence on the 
campus, at a cost of $50,000, which has since been occupied by him- 
self, but which he has given to the university as the "president's 
house." In 1883 Franklin Hall and the gymnasium and Armory Hall 
were built by the trustees. In the same year the memorial chapel 
was added to the Sage Chapel. During this period, also, many resi- 
dences were built on the campus by the professors. At the close of 
President White's administration the annual income of the univer- 
sity was about $225,000. The productive funds amounted to about 
$3,750,000. The amount invested in buildings and grounds was nearly 
$1,000,000, and in equipment about $400,000. The total value of the 
university property, exclusive of its Western lands, was upward of 
$5,000,000. In addition, the university held at that time the splen- 
did endowment given by Mrs. Jennie McGraw Fiske. The latter, 
however, was subsequently lost as the result of a contest in the courts. 

3. Religious Features. 

By the terms of its charter Cornell is made strictly a nonsectari^n 
institution — as fully so, in fact, as the public schools of the State. Of 
the propriety of this there seems never to have been any doubt in the 
minds of the founders and friends; nor has any argument ever been 
urged against it which would not, with equal force, apply to the whole 
system of public instruction. In the new field which Cornell was 
to occupy there was no room for theological controversies or sectarian 
wrangling and as little for particular denominational control. To a 
complete emancipation from all this the charter pointed the way in 
its prohibition that " at no time shall a majority of the board be of one 
religious sect or of no religious sect" and its provision that "persons 
of every religious denomination or of no religious denomination shall 
be equally eligible to all offices and appointments. " These commands 
of the charter were from the first unswervingly obeyed hy the founders 
and their colleagues. In his inaugural address President AVhite 
dwelt upon them as embodying a great fundamental principle of the 
"new education" which "accepts fully the principle of religious free- 
dom in higher education, as we all receive it in general education." 
"We will labor," he declared, " to make this a Christian institution — 
a sectarian institution may it never be." 

This bold position naturally led many of the more timid clergymen 
throughout the State to take fright and, in their nervousness, to say 
and do some foolish things. The stronger and wiser, however, had no 
fear of true learning, and the end has amply justified their faith. It 
would be of no service now to revive the bitterness of attacks which 
have happily well-nigh ceased. A misunderstanding of the true pur- 



COKNELL UNIVERSITY. 401 

poses of the university, and perhaps a deep distrust of its policy so 
far as understood, led many well-meaning persons to apply to it epi- 
thets not calculated to strengthen it in the opinion of careful parents. 
It is simply a part of history that for fifteen years after it first opened 
its doors Cornell had to contend against the distrust, the prejudices, 
and even the avowed hostility of a large portion of the clergy of New 
York.^ That it has outlived the sentiment is a tribute to its honest 
and straightforward management. 

The purpose from the first was to provide religious and ethical 
instruction so far as this could be done without violating the spirit of 
the charter. To this end no one has contributed so largely as the 
Hon. Henry W. Sage. His was the generous hand that built the 
university chapel. One of his sons endowed it amply with a preacher- 
ship fund; another son placed in it a fine church organ, which has 
added greatly to the beauty of its services. There each Sunday dur- 
ing the college year some eminent clergyman, selected for his high 
standing in his denomination and the respect he has won at large, 
speaks, freely as he will, the truth as he knows it. Attendance is 
purely voluntary, but, so far from there being any lack of interest, 
the chapel proves too small for the number who wish to attend, and 
diiring the past year it has been enlarged to double its original capacity. 

Supplemental to the chapel is the fine building given by the late 
Alfred S. Barnes, of New York, to the university Christian Associa- 
tion, and called in his memory Barnes Hall. This building is used 
daily by the association for its various meetings and services and has 
become a kind of center for the social and religious life of the univer- 
sity. The association itself is very strong and is believed to have the 
largest membership of any college association in the country."^ 

Mr. Sage's earnest efforts for the higher life and thought among the 
students also led him, in 1884, to endow the Susan E. Linn Sage pro- 
fessorship of Christian ethics. This professorship was filled by the 
election of Prof. Jacob Gould Schurman, whose work has proved of 
the ver}^ highest value to the university and through it to the entire 
country. But Mr. Sage's generosity did not stop here, and, in 1890, 
he added to his previous endowment of $60,000 the further sum of 
1200,000 for the establishment of a school of philosophy. 



' The curious may care to look at the testimony of Dr. Samuel J. Parker, of 
Ithaca, before the investigating committee (N. Y. senate docs. 1874. No. 103, pp. 
Vd'i-liO). There is also among President White's papers a long and serious protest 
signed by a number of Ithaca clergymen who had been shocked because the young 
people were permitted to dance at one of Mr. Cornell's receptions. 

■ It is at least worthy of note that in this institution where all religious activ- 
ities are purely voluntary and uninfluenced by any denominational impulse, the 
Students' Christian Association is the largest and perhaps the most perfectly and 
efficiently organized to be found in any college or university in the country.— 
President Adams, Annual Report, 1890-91, pp. 21-22. 
3176 26 



402 HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

Thus religion and ethics are a part of the strong forces that go to the 
making of men and women at Cornell University, and it is not too 
much to say that no institution in the world offers greater advantages 
for the development of a deep and reverential religious character. 

The erroneous ideas which have prevailed as to the religious atti- 
tude of the university warrant the publication of the chief official 
statements on this point from the opening of the universit}'- down to 
the present time. They will be found below in chronological order: 

The Cornell University, as its highest aim, seeks to promote Christian civiliza- 
tion; biit it can not be sectarian. Established by a General Government which 
recognizes no distinctions in creed, and by a citizen who holds the same view, it 
would be false to its trust were it to seek to promote any creed or to exclude any. 
The State of New York, in designating this institution as the recipient of the 
bounty of the General Government, has also declared the same doctrine. By the 
terms of the charter no trustee, professor, or student can be accepted or rejected 
on account of any religious or political opinions which he may or may not hold. 
The success of the University of Michigan, where the faculty comprises men of 
all religious sects and of all parties, is a sufficient refutation of those who assert 
that an institution of learning must be sectarian to be successful. (First general 
announcement, 1868, pp. 18-19; Ibid.. 2d ed., pp. 21-22.) 

The second announcement, 1868, pp. 21-22. 

Same as above, adding: 

Simple religious services are held daily at the university chapel, which all stu- 
dents, except those specially excused for due cause shown to the faculty, are 
expected to attend. Students are also expected to attend some religious service 
on Sunday. (Catalogue for 1868-69, with announcement, p. 69.) 

In the university chapel— the gift of Henry W. Sage— religious services are held, 
in connection with discourses to be delivered by clergymen of the various Christian 
denominations, selected, from time to time, in such a way as to give the best repre- 
sentation of the religious thought of the age and to exemplify the influence of 
Christianity upon the world. There are, also, daily chapel services to which 
students are invited, although none are compelled to attend. (Register, 1875-76, 
p. 39.) 

The university, established by a Government which recognizes no distinctions in 
religious belief, would be false to its trust were it to seek to promote any creed, 
or to exclude any. The State of New York, in designaiing it as the recipient of 
the bounty of the United States Government, acted on this principle. By the 
terms of its charter, persons of any religious denomination or of no religious 
denomination are equally eligible to all offices and appointments in the univer- 
sity, and it is expressly ordered that "at no time shall a majority of the board of 
trustees be of any one religious sect, or of no religious sect." In the university 
chapel— the gift of Henry W. Sage — religious services are held and discourses 
delivered by representative clergymen of the various Christian denominations. 
(Register, 1880-81, p. 8). 

Same as above, with this sentence before the last one : 

This is understood to imply that while the university can not be identified with 
or under the control of any one religious denomination, it must, nevertheless, 
always be on the side of Christianity as opposed to irreligion and unbelief. (Reg- 
ister, 1885-86, p. 16.) 



I 



COENELL UJSriVEESITY. 403 

Same as above, omitting "as opposed, to irreligion and unbelief." 
(Register, 1886-87, p. 17; ibid., 1887-88, p. 10; ibid., 1888-89, p. 17.) 
Substituting for interpolated sentence: 

This is understood to imply that while the universitj^ can not be identified with 
or nnder the control of any one religious denomination, it must, nevertheless, 
always be religious in spirit. (Register, 1889-90, p. 16; ibid., 1890-91, p. 14; ibid,, 
1891-92, p. 14.) 

Hereafter all special reference ceases except by way of description 
of the Sage Chapel and Barnes Hall and a general statement of the 
charter limitations as to religious control. 

4. THE M'GRAW-FISKE WILL CONTEST. 

Among the very earliest benefactors of the university was Miss 
Jennie McGraw, the daughter of John McGraw, the donor of McGraw 
Hall. When the university opened in 1868 its students received their 
first greeting from the chime of bells which her thoughtfulness and 
generosity had provided and which have continued to welcome all 
succeeding classes from the belfry in the McGraw tower and later in 
that of the university library. Upon the death of her father in 1877 
she inherited the bulk of his great fortune, which during her short 
life she shared generously with the suffering and needy about her. 
About a year before her death she went abroad in search of health 
and was soon afterwards married at the Ameincan legation at Berlin, 
where President White then represented the Government of the United 
States, to Willard Fiske, a professor in the university and its librarian 
as well. Before leaving Ithaca she had given her architect, Mr. Will- 
iam Miller, caT-te blanche for the construction of a mansion just below 
the university grounds and overlooking the waters of Cayuga Lake. 
This mansion she was destined never to enter alive, for, returning to 
her native village after an absence of a year, she lingered for a few 
days A\athin sight of its towers and then, on the 1st day of October, 
1881, passed away. 

When her will was opened it was discovered that she had left to the 
university a princely fortune. Forty thousand dollars was given to 
found a hospital for students on the campus; $50,000 was devoted 
to maintaining McGraw Hall; $200,000 was given in trust for the use 
of the university library. After these and other bequests, aggregating 
over a million and a half dollars, were paid, the residue of her estate 
was to be added to the fund for the use of the library. By the terms 
of this instrument her husband received $800,000 in addition to what 
she had already given him during their married life, and all of her 
near relatives received large bequests. The funds that actually came 
into the possession of the university under the specific bequests named 
and the residuary clause in the will amounted to over three-quarters 
of a million of dollars, while the real estate not converted into money 
would have brought the total uj) to about a million and a quarter. 

This magnificent endowment the university was destined never to 



404 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

secure. For reasons which have never been publicly known, but which 
arose out of disagreements with the executor of the estate on the one 
side and the trustees of the university on the other, Professor Fiske, 
who at first expressed himself as perfectly satisfied with the provisions 
of his wife's will, was induced to begin a suit for the practical annul- 
ment of the will of Jennie McGraw Fiske. 

The principal ground on which the bequests to Cornell University 
were contested was, that by the terms of its charter its endowment 
was limited to three millions of dollars in the aggregate, and that as 
the endowment exceeded this sum at the death of Mrs. Fiske, the 
university had no capacity to take or hold the additional property 
bequeathed by her will. 

The case was argued with great learning in the supreme court and 
the court of appeals, both of which decided for the contestants upon 
the principal ground maintained by them. ^ In the meantime, it should 
be said, Mrs. Fiske's relatives had appeared as contestants, claiming 
under a conditional provision in her father's will. They and Professor 
Fiske were united against the claims of the university. 

As a last resort the university carried the case to the Supreme Court 
of the United States, contending that under the land-grant act and 
the charter, the entire proceeds of the land grant, inclading the Cornell 
endowment fund and the unsold lands, belonged in reality to the 
State, while only a present and conditional right to the income belonged 
to the university. Plad this view prevailed it would have left the 
endowment of the university far less than three millions of dollars 
and would have saved the McGraw-Fiske bequests intact. But the 
Federal court also decided adversely to the university,^ and after seven 
years of litigation the estate was divided between Professor Fiske and 
the McGraw heirs. 

This loss would have been a very serious blow to the hopes of the 
university had not Mr. Sage, with continuing generosity, met the dif- 
ficulty in a very characteristic way. Even before the contest was 
finall}^ decided he pledged himself to be responsible for the cost of a 
suitable library building, to which a part of the fund was to have 
been devoted. The necessary funds for this iDurpose he advanced 
upon the understanding that in case the suit terminated in favor of 
the university they were to be repaid to him, otherwise to be a free 
gift. ISy this means work on the library building was begun, and 
on October 7, 1891, it was formally opened. At the exercises attend- 
ing this event Mr. Sage presented to the universitj^ the receipts for . 
$260,000, the cost of the building, and also for $300,000 for a permanent 
endowment. Thus the generous purposes of Jennie McGraw-Fisl 
have been in part accomplished, and it is not altogether improbabll 
that the future may see even a fuller realization of her noble designsj 

i45HiTn., 354: lllN.Y.. 66. 

2136 U.S., 152, Justices Brewer and Gray dissenting. 







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CORNELL UNIVERSITY. 405 

5. OTHER FEATURES OF THE ADMINISTRATION. 

One of tlie features of the administration worthy of special mention 
was the adherence to the original plan of nonresident lectureships. 
It was a favorite idea with President White that the regular work of 
the resident i3rof essors should be supplemented by nonresident lecture 
courses by eminent specialists in various fields of work. At the out- 
set the men selected for these lectureships were such as to dignify the 
system and render its success certain. From 1868 to 1870 the lec- 
turers were Professor Agassiz in natural history, James Russell Lowell 
in English literature, George William Curtis in recent literature, and 
Prof. Theodore W. Dwight upon the Constitution of the United States. 
The lectures were thrown open to the general public u]pon the pay- 
ment of a small fee, somewhat after the now prevalent system of uni- 
versity extension lectures, and it is interesting to note from an old 
contemporary record that the fees thus received more than paid the 
expenses of the course, exclusive of the amounts paid to the lecturers. 
Later the lectures were thrown open to the general public without 
cost. Some of the later lecturers were Bayard Taylor on German lit- 
erature, George Washington Greene on American history, James 
Anthony Fronde on English rule in Ireland, Professor Von Hoist on 
constitutional history, John Fiske on American history, Edward A. 
Freeman on European history, Charles Dudley Warner on recent lit- 
erature, and many others. Most of these were lectures of from six to 
ten in number, but some were more extended, as the lectures of Felix 
Adler on Hebrew and Oriental literature and F. B. Sanborn on social 
science. The system has been continued down to the present, the 
number of lecturers annually increasing rather than diminishing. In 
the law school nonresident lecture courses have been given from the 
first by specialists in various fields, and during recent years frequent 
lectures have been given before the students in the engineering 
courses. The present tendency, however, seems to be toward calling 
lecturers for single lectures, rather than for more extended courses. 

In the matter of the aesthetic environment of the university Presi- 
dent White was also especially interested. Owing to the limited 
resources of the university his plans in this respect were not often 
carried out, but he himself gave largely and encouraged others to 
give for such adornment of the university buildings and grounds as 
was possible. One of his earliest gifts consisted in fitting up with sub- 
stantial furniture and a considerable number of fine engravings and 
bronzes a room in "White Hall for the joint use of the literary societies 
and the University Christian Association. After the demise of the 
literary societies the Christian Association became the sole beneficiary 
of this gift, and the engravings and bronzes were removed to Barnes 
Hall when that building became the home of the association. Pres- 
ident White was also deeply interested in the department of architec- 
ture and gave largely in books and money for the equipment of that 



406 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IIST NEW YORK. 

work. The placing of portraits and memorial windows was also 
largely due to Ms interest and often the result of his own generosity. 
It was lie who brought about the building of the Memorial Chapel and 
the placing in it of the memorial windows and statues. He also had 
much at heart the matter of the erection of an alumni hall, which 
should be the repository of memorials and works of art. This has 
not yet been accomplished, although he has made a generous offer of 
a considerable sum of money if the alumni of the university will sub- 
scribe enough more to erect a suitable building. Since his adminis- 
tration closed the department of classical archaeology and history of 
art was established, and in connection with it there has been equipped 
a fine museum of classical archaeology through the generosity of Henry 
W. Sage. 

Another favorite plan of President White's was to provide for sucli 
instruction as would best fit students for the profession of journalism. 
During the earlier years occasional courses of lectures were given by 
journalists, and the work in the department of English was to some 
extent adjusted to the prospective needs of those who intended to 
enter the profession. At one time, after the close of President White's 
administration, there was a regular course in journalism, under charge 
of Prof. B. G. Smith, who had had an extended experience in news- 
paper work. This was subsequently abandoned, and since that time 
no special provision has been made for the training of journalists. 
It is thought that a thorough training in language and literature, in 
history and political science, and in the art of composition will afford 
the main preparation that can be offered by a university. 

6. RESIGNATION OF PRESIDENT WHITE. 

At the end of the college year in June, 1885, President White laid 
down the burdens of the office which he had borne for nineteen j^ears. 
His resignation was received on all sides with unfeigned regret. 
Trustees, faculty, alumni, and students united in the common expres- 
sion of appreciation for his noble and beneficent services. As the 
early friend of the founder, as himself in a very true sense a founder, 
he was justlj^ regarded as the greatest personal force in the university 
system and the highest exponent of its policy and spirit. His resig- 
nation seemed, therefore, to many friends of Cornell almost an irre- 
mediable calamity. Happily the foundations of the university had, 
largely through his wise efforts, been laid too deep and broad to need 
the additional support of any particular man, and the wonderful 
progress of Cornell since 1885 has dissipated all fears as to its future, 
while it has tended to strengthen the appreciation of the wisdom and 
devotion of its first ]3resident. 

When President White resigned his office on the 17th day of June, 
1885, a little more than twenty years had elapsed since Cornell Uni- 
versity came into existence. From a name it had grown into a splen- 
did reality. From an experiment it had passed through all the viols- 



COENELL UNIVERSITY. 407 

situdes of shifting public o]3inioii, of sincere and fair-minded doubt, 
and of open and often ungenerous criticism and opposition into the 
security of a triumphant success. It had become in a very true sense 
"a people's university," in touch with all their interests and needs 
and aspirations, and the people had rallied to its support. Its mate- 
rial growth, its educational triumph, its firm adherence to the rational 
principles and policy of its founders, its steady and growing influence 
upon the intellectual and moral life of the State and nation were every- 
where recognized and everywhere gave it an importance which no 
institution of like age could equal and few of even vastly greater age 
could excel. It was no light thing that the man who took up the 
burdens of such an undertaking at thirty-four could lay them down 
at fift3^-three with these just words: 

Whatever pride we may take in the growth of the institution under our care, 
I feel that we have a far greater cause for satisfaction in the triumph here and 
elsewhere of those principles in vphich our university was founded and which, in 
some respects, it was the first to represent. Among the facts resulting from these 
principles I may name the consolidation of resources for higher education; a closer 
union between the advanced and the general educational system of the State; 
unsectarian control ; the equal eligibility of all candidates for trusteeships and 
professorships, irrespective of sectarian or i^artisan connections; the presentation 
of various courses of study, each carefully framed to give a discipline and culture 
suited to the different characters, needs, and aims of various classes of students; 
the placing of all students in all courses on an equal footing as regards privileges; 
the development especially of a well-planned course in history and iDolitical and 
social science adapted to the practical needs of men worthily ambitious in public 
affairs; the more thorough presentation of the leading modern literatures, espe- 
cially that of our own tongue; full attention to technical studies, both on the sci- 
entific and practical side; and, in general, the steady effort to abolish monastic 
government and pedantic instruction. All these ideas and tendencies, of which 
our university has been a leading champion, and for which it incurred in its early 
days much opposition and some obloquy, have now so far taken hold upon the 
leading American universities that their speedy and complete triumph is certain.' 

The trustees sought in every way to express their regret at the 
president's resignation and their appreciation of his long and valu- 
able services. They first desired him to accept the title of honorary 
president of the university, but this, out of deference to his succes- 
sor and the best interests of the university, he felt constrained to 
decline. They also offered to secure an amendment to the charter, 
making him a trustee for life, but this he declined on the ground that 
it would establish a doubtful and perhaps dangerous precedent. 
Later they elected him dean of the department of history and political 
science, or, as it was named in his honor, the President White School 
of History and Political Science, but this also he declined, feeling, 
doubtless, that his jDresence in the faculty might prove embarrassing 
to his successor.^ But when, in the usual way, he was elected to a 

'Letter of resignation, Annual Report, 1885, 2d ed., pp. 73, 74. 
'^Resolutions of the trustees, ibid., p. 76; Proceedings of Board, etc., 1885-1890, 
pp. 39, 120. 



408 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IK NEW YORK. 

seat in the board of trustees, lie willingly accepted it, and in that posi- 
tion, and as a lecturer on history, he continues his work for the uni- 
versity which he helped to found and to build, and to the success of 
which he has contributed the best years of his life and the full meas- 
ure of his great qualities of head and heart. 

B. The Administration of President Adams. 

1. ELECTION OF CHARLES KENDALL ADAMS. 

The second president of Cornell was Charles Kendall Adams, who 
was elected by the board of trustees to that position on July 18, 1885, 
and entered upon the duties of his office on July 21 of the same year. 

The selection of Mr. Adams was the outcome of the belief that his 
training, his sympathies, and his recognized ability fitted him in a 
peculiar sense to carry out the great purposes for which the university 
had been established. Educated at Michigan University, he had been 
for over fifteen years a professor of history in that institution, and 
had contributed in no small degree to its development and success. 
He had given particular attention to questions of University govern- 
ment, having studied the whole subject with great care, both in this 
country and in the Old World. Moreover, the character of the Uni- 
versity of Michigan as an organic part of the educational sj^stem of 
the State and the general problems with which as such it had to deal 
had provided an excellent school for the training of a president of 
Cornell. It was felt that the future development of the university 
must be on the broad lines laid down bj^ its founders, and that Mr. 
Adams would come to this work in a large and sympathetic spirit. 
His selection, although not unanimous, was therefore easily deter- 
mined upon and quickly made. He had especially the support of 
President White, who had known Mr. Adams at Michigan University 
and entertained the highest respect for his abilities. 

It is impossible to do more than sketch briefly the many features of 
this administration. It lasted precisely seven years, during which 
time the growth in material prosperity, in the number of students 
and professors, and in the development and extension of the curricu- 
lum was almost or quite unprecedented. Many of these features have 
already been anticipated. 

3. REORGANIZATION OF DEPARTMENTS. 

The first work which the new president undertook was a thorough 
study of the organization and relations of the departments of the uni- 
versity. A full report of the committee on reorganization, of which 
President Adams was chairman, was presented to the board in Decem- 
ber, 1885, and was adopted as reported.^ Many important changes 
resulted from this action, although not all were realized immediately. 

1 Proceedings of Board of Trustees, 1890, pp. 33-28. 



CORNELL UNIVERSITY. 409 

Among- the most important may be mentioned the temporaiy consoli- 
dation of the department of English literature with that of rhetoric 
and general literature; the establishment of a department of peda- 
gogy; the extension of the department of chemistry; the entire read- 
justment of the department of history and political science. There 
were in addition many changes in the i3ersonnel of various depart- 
ments, both by the resignation of professors and the creation of new 
chairs. Together with a general increase of salaries there was adopted 
the principle that a professor whose services are deemed indispensable 
shall be secured by the payment of whatever salary is necessary, 
without regard to the salaries paid to other professors. 

Two important schools were created during this administration. 
The first was the school of law, which first opened its doors in 1887, 
and has since had a history of exceptional success. The other was the 
Susan Xinn Sage School of Philosophy, which was organized under 
the endowment provided by Mr. Sage in 1890. These two schools 
rounded out in a very necessary way the scope of university instruc- 
tion, and have added greatly to the reputation and usefulness of the 
university. 

The increased interest in humanistic studies was especially marked. 
This Avas felt not onlj^ in new departments, or schools, like that of 
philosophy, but in the older departments of language and literature. 
In the departments of Greek and Latin there was a considerable 
increase not only in the teaching force and equipment, but also in the 
attendance. In his report for 1888-89, President Adams says that — 

Within four years the number of classical students in the university has increased 
by about fivefold. This increase is plainly owing to the superior instruction 
offered, to the greatly enlarged equipment of the seminary rooms for advanced 
work in the ancient classics, and to the very gratifying atmosphere of confidence 
and enthusiasm that has come to surround linguistic studies. 

The enlargement of the department of English by the establishment 
of a professorship of rhetoric and English i^hilology, distinct from the 
professorship of English literature, increased materially the useful- 
ness and popularity of these studies. Without embarrassment to the 
efficiency of the scientific and technical departments, which indeed 
prospered as never before, the departments dealing with the humani- 
ties became not only more efficient by the increase of teaching force, 
but more useful by the increase of students who sought work in those 
lines of study. 

3. COURSES OF STUDY. 

The courses of study were also somewhat modified during President 
Adams's administration. In the first year of the administration the 
general course in literature finally disappeared; the course in science 
and letters was rechristened the course in letters ; special courses in 
analytical chemistry and chemistry and physics were replaced by a 
single course in chemistry, which, however, disappeared in 1891-92, 



410 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

the same eud being obtained by specializing in chemistry during the 
last two years of the course in science; the course in mathematics, 
natural history, and history and political science disappeared, the first 
two coming under the course in science, the last under the course in 
philosophy ; the course in industrial art not leading to a degree was 
introduced, but disappeared in 1892-93. The scheme of courses 
which prevailed during most of the administration was, first, general 
courses in arts, philosophy, science, letters; second, special courses 
in agriculture, architecture, chemistry, civil engineering, mechanical 
engineering, law, and, not leading to a degree, industrial art and 
medical preparatory. Practically the only change from this was the 
disappearance of chemistry as a special course in 1891-92. 

There was a sharp advance in the amount of elective work per- 
mitted within the general courses. In 1884-85 the amount was from 
two to four hours in the second year, from nine to twelve in the third, 
and about the same in the fourth. In 1885-86 a practically uniform 
rule was adopted for all of the general courses. Under this there was 
an allowance of from two to five hours elective in the second year, 
thirteen in the third, and practically the whole of the fourth. In the 
course in science the student was required to devote at least nine 
hours of that elective in the third and fourth years to scientific sub- 
jects, while in the course in letters he must devote the same amount 
to literary, historical, and philosophical subjects. The electives were 
increased slightly in 1890-91 so as to make practically the whole of 
the third and fourth years of the general courses entirely elective. 

One of the most marked and important features of the administra- 
tion was the completer organization of post-graduate study and 
instruction. This was true not only of the general courses but of 
the special technical courses as well. The result was speedily seen in 
the large increase in the number of graduate students. In 1884-85 
there had been 33; in 1891-92 there were 132, who were candidates 
for advanced degrees, and a considerable number more who were 
candidates for baccalaureate degrees. 

By way of summary it may be said that the administration was 
characterized by greater simplification of courses, a larger scheme of 
elective studies, and more adequate provision for post-graduate 
instruction. 

4. MATERIAL GROWTH. 

The period from 1885 to 1892 was one marked by great material 
prosperity, not only in the increase of productive funds, but in the 
erection of buildings and the equipment of departments. Among the 
buildings erected were Barnes Hall, Morse Hall, the library building 
and Boardman Hall. The increase of buildings and equipment dur- 
ing the seven years is estimated at upwards of $1,000,000, while the 
increase in endowment by gifts and the sale of university lands was 
nearly $2,000,000. The final decision in the McGraw-Fiske will con- 



COENELL UNIVERSITY. 411 

test, resulting in loss of the bequests to the university, was a serious 
blow, but the generosity of Mr. Sage, in building and endowing the 
library, averted the more immediate embarrassment. 

No feature of the administration is of more importance or of more 
lasting benefit than that M'hich has to do with the university library. 
The large gift of Mr. Sage was supplemented by the gift from 
ex-President White of the great library, which for over thirty years 
he had been gathering; and other smaller gifts, together with yearly 
purchases, resulted in a large increase in the number of volumes, 
which, however, verj'- inadequately represents the increase in effici- 
ency. At the end of the administration the general library numbered 
over 100,000 volumes and 25,000 pamphlets, and the law library over 
9,000 volumes. The gift of the President White library, which is 
especially rich in authorities relating to the French Revolution, the 
Protestant Reformation, and the history of superstition, including 
witchcraft, torture, and similar subjects, renders the library for 
certain lines of study the center of available authorities in America. 

The increase in income was about $150,000, but the increase in expend- 
itures kept pace with that in income. The salary list alone, during 
the year 1891-92, was upwards of $200,000, while the demands of vari- 
ous departments for equipment were often greater than the means 
for supplying them. President Adams early pointed out the need of 
enlarged resources. In his annual report for 1887-88 he said: 

The friends of the university every whei-e ought to know that one of three things 
is absolutely necessary. Either the growth of the university must be arrested by 
the holding of the expenditures of the institution substantially where they now 
are; or secondly, the permanent funds of the university will have to be encroached 
upon as a means of providing for permanent improvements; or thirdly, assistance 
for the purposes of several departments needing new buildings must come 
from the friends of the institution. The trustees would be unfaithful to their 
trust if they allowed the present prosperity of the university to be built up by 
placing a mortgage upon its future. It has not been the policy of the university 
hitherto to content itself with what has already been attained. It must, there- 
fore, in the future place its reliance, under God, not only upon such wisdom as it 
can command in the management of its investments and the administration of its 
affairs, but also upon the generosity of those who believe in its methods and 
rejoice in the work it is endeavoring to do. 

The need is still as urgent as when President Adams thus empha- 
sized it, although in the meantime the productive funds have largely 
increased and munificent gifts have been bestowed. Indeed it is 
difficult to anticipate a time when a growing university will have all 
the funds which it could desire and usefully expend in the cause of 
education. 

5. INCREASE IN NUMBER OF STUDENTS. 

The increase in the attendance of students during the seven years 
was very rapid. During the year 1884-85 the registration was 577, 
the new matriculates 251. During the year 1891-92 the registration 
was 1,538, the new matriculates 605, notwithstanding the fact that in 



412 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

the meantime the tuition was raised from 175 a year to $125 in some 
courses and to $100 in others, and that the entrance requirements 
were materia,lly increased. This increase in attendance was dis- 
tributed throughout the different courses. In arts the registration 
increased nearly fiA^efold (from 30 to 142); in the engineering course 
over threefold (from 184 to 640); in philosophy the increase was 
about fourfold; the number of graduate students increased fourfold. 
The establishment of the law school also added materially to the 
total attendance. The total registration for the seven years was 
7,986, representing 3,252 matriculates, as against 8,580, representing 
3,599 matriculates during the preceding seventeen years. The total 
number of first degrees conferred was 1,036, as against 1,019 under 
the preceding period. The number of second degrees conferred 
was 111. 

Some fears were entertained that the increase in tuition might 
operate to check the rapid growth in numbers, but in view pf the 
history of the administration upon this point such fears seem to have 
been groundless. Whatever other objection might be raised against 
high tuition fees the argument from numbers is far from conclusive. 

6. INCREASE IN FACULTY. 

The rapid increase in the number of students made necessary a 
corresponding increase in the number of teachers, but this could not 
be accomplished siDeedily enough to keep the iDroportion as it was 
at the beginning of the increase in attendance. During the years 
1888-89 and 1889-90, there were a larger number of students to each 
teacher than at an 3" ijrevious period since the first five years of the 
university. In 1884-85 there were 56 teachers to 575 students; in 
1889-90 there were 99 teachers to 1,329 students; in 1891-92 there 
were 123 teachers to 1,573 students. The increase in the number of 
professors of all grades during the seven years was 20; the increase 
of instructors and assistants 67. This marked increase in the number 
of instructors was made necessary by the multiplication of sections 
in subjects required of large numbers of students, while the addition 
and development of departments swelled the teaching force in the 
higher ranks. 

7. OTHER FEATURES OP THE ADMINISTRATION. 

Among other interesting features of the administration may be 
mentioned the passage by the trustees of a statute providing for a 
" Sabbatical year " for professors. It is provided that any professor, 
acting professor, associate professor, or assistant professor who has 
served for at least seven years, may have a leave of absence for one 
year and that half of his regular salary may continue during his 
absence. This statute was passed in the belief that a year spent in 
rest and study by a professor who has been long in the service will 
result in much good not only to him but to the university as well. 



COENELL UNIVEESITY. 413 

Undei" its provisions many of the older professors have spent a year 
in Europe at the great seats of learning, making themselves acquainted 
at first hand with the results of modern research and methods. 

There was also created the office of dean of the general faculty, 
who performed many of the duties previouslj^ devolving upon the 
president. He was the medium of communication with the students, 
the chairman ex officio of many important committees, and in general 
the executive officer of the faculty. This office materially lightened 
tlie labors of the president in matters of administrative detail, and 
rendered possible a more systematic management of the routine of 
the administrative department. The dean was appointed by the 
president, subject to i-atification by the board of trustees. The fol- 
lowing served as deans of the general faculty: Charles A. Schaeffer, 
1886-87; Henry S. Williams, 1887-88; Horatio S. White, 1888-1896. 
Since 1896 Professor White has been dean of the university faculty 
created by the legislation of 1896. 

The trustees also by a statute conferred upon the university senate 
an advisory iDower in the selection of professors. It was first pro- 
vided that no election of a full professor should be made except upon 
the recommendation of a committee composed of all the full profess- 
ors and the president.^ This was found unsatisfactory and was 
replaced by a statute providing that the nomination of professors 
should be vested in the joresident, who should first i^resent the name 
to the university senate. This body was empowered to consider the 
nomination and vote upon it, yea or nay. This vote, with any rea- 
sons the senate might wish to assign, was then transmitted with the 
nomination to the board of trustees for their final action.^ The uni- 
versity senate was composed of the president and all full professors, 
a body which in 1891-92 numbered 35 members. Its duties were to 
assist the president, to counsel and advise in regard to all nomina- 
tions for i^rofessorships, to advise in regard to courses of study, and 
in general to consider and advise as to questions of universit}'^ policy 
and especially such as might be submitted to it by the trustees. The 
senate continued upon this basis down to October, 1893, when it was 
abolished by act of the board of trustees. 

In the first year of his administration President Adams recommended 
that the university should confer honorary degrees upon its alumni 
or others who might be deemed worthy of this distinction. In accord- 
ance with this recommendation two honorary degrees were conferred 
in 1886, one upon ex-President White and one upon David Starr 
Jordan, a graduate of the university in the class of 1872, then presi- 
dent of Indiana University and since president of Leland Stanford, 
Junior, University. Down to this time the university had never con- 

1 Proceedings of Board of Trustees, 1885-1890, p. 314. 

-Annual Report of the President, 1890, pp. 19, 20. Proceedings of Board of 
Trustees, October 21, 1890. 



414 HISTORY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

1 

ferred any honorary degrees, and it had been tacitly nnderstood that ^ 

such action was contrary to its established policy. The alumni of 
the university, while recognizing that if honorary degrees were to be 
conferred at all, the two persons selected were eminently worthj?^ of 
the honor, could not look with indifference upon this reversal of the 
established policy. They accordingly prepared and circulated a 
petition requesting the trustees to reverse their action so far as con- 
cerned the future policy of the university, and this petition, signed 
by an overwhelming majority of the alumni, was presented to the 
facult}^ and the board of trustees during the following year. The 
petition was favorably and unanimously acted upon by the faculty, 
and the trustees on October 22, 1886, rescinded their action of the 
preceding June, without prejudice to the degrees already conferred. 
This decisive action may be regarded as indicative of what is now the 
settled policy of the university upon this point. 

8. RESIGNATION OF PRESIDENT ADAMS. 

On May 5, 1892, President Adams resigned the presidency of the. 
university, to take effect at the close of the college year, assigning as] 
his reason for the step ' ' grave and seemingly irreconcilable differs 
ences of opinion in regard to matters of administrative importance.! 
While no further public statement has ever been made as to the pre- 
cise nature of the differences which led to this step, it is generally 
understood that they were of a character honorable to all concerne( 
and that President Adams laid down the duties of the office in th^ 
conviction that bj^ so doing he could best secure for the university a 
harmonious and consistent administration. In accepting his resig- 
nation the trustees testified to their high opinion of Dr. Adams and 
just appreciation of his work for the university in this minute, which 
was spread upon their records: 

It is in obedience both to a sense of duty and to a feeling of strong personal 
respect and attachment that the trustees of Cornell University place upon their 
minutes this formal expression of their cordial appreciation of the services of Dr. 
Charles Kendall Adams as their chief executive officer during the past seven years. 

He came into the presidency at a time when a great addition to the material 
resources of the institution demanded commensurate effort. New departments 
were to be created, old departments to be enlarged and reorganized, large addi- 
tions were to be made to the faculty, and great extension given to the equipment. 

It is not too much to say that President Adams distinguished himself by the 
fidelity with which his multifarious duties were discharged. The formation of 
his plans was marked by wisdom, and their execution by unwearied labor and 
care. In the choice of professors he showed remarkable sagacity. Rarely in the 
history of any institution has such a series of eminent professors been brought 
nto any faculty as that which has been introduced under his administration into 
Cornell University. A very striking testimony to the wisdom of his nominations 
is seen in the efforts which other leading universities have made to attract into 
their own faculties the men he has thus selected. 

In the relation between the university and the National and State governments, 
and especially with the department of public instruction of the State of New York, 
President Adams has also shown his ability to deal with men in the conduct of 
large public affairs. 



CORNELL UNIVERSITY. 



4f5 



As regards the influence of the university on the public, and wide discussion of 
the leading educational topics of the time. President Adams, by his writing and 
speeches, has materially influenced the most enlightened public opinion of his 
countr3^ and as a writer upon historical subjects he has done work which has 
elicited praise from the highest sources on both sides of the Atlantic. 

His administration will be remembered in the history of Cornell University as 
equally important to the interests of the institution and creditable to himself, 
and we tender to him as a scholar, as an educator, and as a man the assurances 
of our sincere respect and regard, with our best wishes for his future success and 
happiness. 

President Adams closed liis official relations with the university on 
commencement day (June 17), 1893. His annual report, presented to 
the board of trustees on June 15th, concludes with these words: 

I can not close this report without giving expression to my appreciation of the 
generous action of the board of trustees in connection with the acceptance of my 
resignation. I wish also to acknowledge with gratitude the hearty and more than 
cordial terms in which my relations with my colleagues and my parting with the 
university is alluded to in their reports herewith presented by the dean of the gen- 
eral faculty, the director of Sibley College, the director of the college of agricul- 
ture, the director of the college of civil engineering, and by the associate dean in 
behalf of the faculty of the school of law. I am also grateful for the expressions 
of regard that have come to me in so many ways from the students of the univer- 
sity. All these kindly and friendly sentiments are gratefully appreciated and 
fully reciprocated. 

At the end of my inaugural address I used these words: 

" In my hopeful moments I try to forecast the future. I see in imagination these 
courses of study perfected and extended; I contemplate new departments added 
and developed; I behold museums and laboratories established and amplified, and, 
as the crowning glory of all, 1 behold a great library arising to fulfill the provis- 
ions of a noble and unthwarted purpose. As I picture all these provisions shed- 
ding their influence for good or for evil over the future generatins of this State, 
and think of all their possibilities and promises, and see them in imagination 
crowning these beautiful hills. I reverently pray to God that all the fruits of wis- 
dom and benevolence may be vouchsafed to the people of this State, and that all 
our efforts may be sanctified to the building up of noble men and women, and 
the universal furtherance of all good learning and of every form of Christian 
civilization." 

As I look about me to-day I can not suppress a feeling of reverent gratitude 
that in the seven years that have since elapsed so much has been accomplished for 
the fulfillment of this hopeful prediction. Best of all, I rejoice that the university 
never before was in so good a condition as it is to-day, and in passing over the 
keys of office to my successor, I do it with the hope and the fervent prayer that 
the prosperity of the past seven years may prove to have been only a harbinger 
and a preparation for even greater prosperity in the years to come. 

Dr. Adams assumed at the beginning of the next college year the 
presidency of the University of Wisconsin, where his talents and 
experience are helping to build up one of the greatest of the State 
universities. 

C. The Present Administration of President Schurman. 

On May 18, 1892, Jacob Gould Schurman, D. Sc, LL.D., was unani- 
mously elected president of the university, and on June 17 he entered 



416 HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDUCATIOIT IN ISTEW YOEK. 

upon the duties of the office. Dr. Scliurmau's election was received 
among tlie officers, alumni, students, and friends of the university 
with a degree of favor which amounted to positive enthusiasm. For 
seven years he had been connected with the faculty, first as professor 
of Christian ethics and later as dean of the Susan E. Linn Sage school 
of philosophy, and during that time had given evidence of the ripest 
scholarship), the broadest educational ideals, and the highest adminis- 
trative ability. Moreover, he was a young man, being but 38 years 
old at the time of his election, and having still before him his best 
years of usefulness. Everything combined to make him the first 
choice of all and the fittest man for the place that could have been 
selected. 

President Schurman's policy is clearly outlined in his inaugural 
address, entitled "Grounds of an appeal to the State for aid to Cor- 
nell University," delivered November 11, 1892, upon the occasion of 
his formal inauguration as president. The policy there announced 
is based upon the idea that Cornell is the State university of New 
York, just as, for example, the institutions at Ann Arbor and Berke- 
ley are the State universities of Michigan and California. It pro- 
ceeds from this premise to the conclusion that New York should sup- 
port her State university in the same manner that Michigan and 
California support theirs. Cornell, he argues, educates yearly 512' 
sons and daughters of New York at an expense of over $150,000, 
free of charge.^ Ne-w York ought, in justice, to bear this burden, 
appropriating yearly to Cornell not less than that amount. She 
has, in fact, never appropriated to that purpose one cent from her 
own treasury. Her sole benefaction has been to turn over to the 
university the gift of the United States, a gift represented by the 
land scrip fund, upon which the annual income has been about 
$20,000 and which will never exceed $30,000. Various urgent needs 
of the university call for State aid. Especially agriculture and veter- 
inary science, subjects touching most nearly the interests of the State, 
call for immediate and ample appropriations. In view of these con- 
siderations the xjresident announced the policy of calling henceforth 
on the State for the aid necessary to develop and maintain the 
university. 

The policy thus inaugurated was speedily put to the test. The 
legislature of 1893 was asked to appropriate money for the erection 
and equipment of an agricultural building devoted to instruction and 
experiment in dairy husbandry. The result was an appropriation of 
$50,000, the first money ever voted directly to the university from the 
State treasury. With this money the dairy building was erected, and 
its formal opening in the fall of 1893 was the occasion of the first visit 

'Since the adoption of the revised constitution, going into effect January 1, 
1895, the number of assembly districts is increased to 150 and the number of free 
State scholarships may therefore aggregate 600 in all. 



COENELL UNIVERSITY. 417 

to the university of a legislative committee. Another aj)propriation 
M^as asked in 1894, and a like sum of $50,000 was voted for the erec- 
tion of a veterinary building, to which $100,000 was added the next 
year. The latter building, however, belongs to the State as a part of 
the equipment of a State veterinary college, and is administered in 
behalf of the State by the trustees of Cornell ITniversitj^ Additional 
appropriations have been asked of the legislature for the maintenance 
of the college and have been granted. The legislature last year estab- 
lished a State College of Forestrj^ and put it under the management 
of the university. Thus the policy announced at the inauguration 
has received recognition in successive legislatures and bids fair to 
become firmly established. 

Another result, due largely to President Schurman's exertions, was 
the transfer of the land-scrip fund from a special fund, subject to 
possible loss or impairment, to the general funds of the State, on 
which the State will pay hereafter 5 per cent interest annuallJ^ 

Other phases of the policy announced in the inaugural address 
were, the increase of the salaries of professors; the increase in the 
number of university fellowships and scholarships ; the establishment 
of publication funds for the printing of contributions in various fields 
of learning; the establishment of new departments and chairs in fields 
as j^et unoccupied; fuller and more adequate equipment for estab- 
lished departments and building and equipment of dormitories for 
students. For the accomplishment of many of these ends the presi- 
dent looks to private benefaction and for many he holds that it is the 
duty of the State to make provision. 

The gist of it all may be briefly put. Cornell University was designed for the 
benefit of the people of this Commonwealth, but in accepting the land grant from 
Congress New York pledged State aid to the institution receiving the proceeds. 
This is Cornell University. . . . But the university has now reached a point 
in its development at which; if it is to furnish liberal and practical education to 
the largest numbers in all the pursuits and professions of life, it must have sup- 
port from the public treasury as well as from the bounty of individuals. Thus 
only can the university fulfill its vocation of furnishing the highest education to 
all classes at the lowest cost. These ends are the ends of the State. It is dedi- 
cated to truth and utility; and between these there is no incompatibility; for, as 
Plato has well said, " the divinest things are the most serviceable." We are at 
once realistic and idealistic, and while we cherish the old we are always in quest 
of something better. The genius of Cornell Universitj^ stands on the solid earth; 
and while his eyes front the dawn the ancient heavens are about him, and through 
all its resounding spaceshe hears the noble mother call Excelsior! So may it be! So 
shall it be; for the people of New York will not suffer either private gifts or public 
grants to fail us. 

During the comparatively brief period that has elapsed since the 
beginning of the administration several important changes have been 
made in the educational and govermental policy of the university. 

The requirements for admission to the technical courses were mate- 
3176 27 



418 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

rialty raised. Like advances were made in the requirements for 
admission to the courses leading to B. S. and Ph. B. Finally the 
course in letters leading to the degree of B. L. was abolished, to take 
effect in 1896. This left but three general courses, that leading to 
A. B,, that leading to Ph. B., and that leading to B. S. The first two 
differed mainly in the substitution of modern languages for Greek in 
the entrance requirements and in the work of the freshman and soph- 
omore years in the course leading to Ph. B. In his report for 1893-94 
the president argued for the abolition of the degree of Ph. B., and the 
conferring of the A. B. degree both in the general course requiring 
Greek and Latin and in the general course in which the modern lan- 
guages are substituted for Greek. This would have resulted in the 
conferring in the general courses of only two degrees, A. B. and B. S., 
the first in courses in which the major work was in the humanities, 
and the second in the courses in which the major work is in science. 
But the faculty went further than this, and decided to grant but the 
one degree of bachelor of arts and to make all work in the department 
of arts and sciences (with very slight exceptions) wholly elective. 

The requirements for admission to the course in law have also been 
increased to an equality with those in arts and sciences, and the course 
has been extended to three years. 

The administration of the university has been changed or modified 
in several particulars. The first is by the abolition of the university 
senate which has been a body composed of full professors, advisorj?^ to 
the president in matters of educational administration and especially 
in the ajppointment of professors. By this change the powers pre- 
viously vested in the two bodies are now vested in the president. 
Later the faculties were reorganized with special faculties as explained 
in Chapter VI. The second change is the increase in the membership 
of the board of trustees by the addition of fifteen elective members, 
ten of whom are to be elected by the full board and five by the alumni. 
A third change had to do with the government of students. There 
was created in 1893 a student council presided over by the president, 
and intrusted with all questions pertaining to frauds in examinations. 
Subsequently the powers of this body were extended so as to include 
all cases of student offenses of whatever character and the body was 
designated the student self-government council. It disappeared in 
1896. ■ 

The increase in the number of students continued down to 1894, when, 
owing to the charge then first made for tuition for graduate instruc- 
tion and the increased requirements for admission to the mechanical 
and electrical engineering courses, there was a falling off. The attend- 
ance has been as follows: 1891-92, 1,538; 1892-93, 1,700; 1893-94, 
1,801; 1894-95, 1,689; 1895-96, 1,702; 1896-97, 1,808; 1897-98, 1,835. 
At the commencement exercises in June, 1898, President Schurman 
stated that during the six years of his presidency he had conferred as 



CORNELL UNIVEESITY. 419 

manj^ degrees as President White and President Adams together con- 
ferred in the preceding twenty-four years. 

During the year just passed a medical college has been established 
in New York. Thus during President Schurman's administration 
three new colleges have been added to the nniversit}^ veterinary 
science, medicine, and forestry. 

The university completed its twenty-fifth year, since the date of its 
formal opening, on October 7, 1893. Appropriate ceremonies were 
held on October 6, 7, and 8 in celebration of the event. The oration 
was delivered on the morning of October 7 by the Hon. Chauncej^ M. 
Depew, and addresses were delivered by the Hon. Stewart L. Wood- 
ford, the Rev. Anson J. Upson, the Rev. E. IST. Potter, Prof. G. C, 
Caldwell, and the Hon. Joseph C. Hendrix. An interesting feature 
was the presentation to Dr. Burt G. Wilder of a "Quarter Century 
Book," made up of original contributions from his former students 
who have become prominent in various fields of science. A dinner was 
held at the conclusion of these exercises at which telegrams and let- 
ters were received from various friends of the university, including 
Ex-President White, then minister of the United States at St. Peters- 
burg; Gen. Meredith Read, the onl}^ surviving member of the original 
board of trustees, and Prof. Goldwin Smith, a member of the first 
faculty. The commemorative sermon was preached by the Right Rev. 
William Croswell Doane, Bishop of Albany.^ 

This anniversary occasion recalled to the seat of the university large 
numbers of former students and served to mark the large results of 
twenty-five years of progress. The campus, which had been a rough 
unfinished upland when the first body of students gathered upon it 
twenty-five years before, spread out in broad and well-kept lawns with 
winding avenues lined with stately elms. Where then stood a solitary 
building flanked by a temporary campanile, now rose fourteen noble 
structures in brick and stone, devoted to the varied activities of the 
modern Cornell. On the campus thirty-five cottages and five fratern- 
ity halls housed professors and students; 145 teachers and over 1,600 
students wrought together on that beautiful hillside. Great depart- 
ments, schools, and colleges have grown up almost unnoticed. A 
priceless general library of 150,000 volumes was housed in a building 
acknowledged to be unequaled at any university in the countrj'^, while 
the great law library of 23,000 volumes was housed in a neighboring- 
building devoted to the needs of a fiourishing law school. Large 
equipments, museums, and collections were on every hand. A total 
income of over $600,000 was available for the maintenance, if not the 
extension, of this magnificent plant. Above all there rested the spirit 
of devotion to the foundation principles of true catholic scholarship, 

' See Proceedings and Addresses at the Twenty- fifth Anniversary of the opening 
of Cornell University, Ithaca, 1893. 



420 HISTORY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

liberal and practical, planted on that spot twenty-five years before by 
the founders of the university. 

In view of these facts it is no hyperbole to say that the present con- 
dition of Cornell University surpasses the most eager hope of its far- 
seeing founder, or of the young and enthusiastic scholar who dreamed 
aloud his dreams to that sympathic friend of all high ideals over thirty 
years ago. The hopes and dreams and aspirations of both have been 
transmuted into realities. The university which they founded has 
educated a large body of students, affording to each an opportunity 
to fit himself for such work as his tastes or talents might incline 
him to. This it has done freely and unstintingly in the broad and 
catholic spirit of the founder that it might carry out his great pur- 
pose of combining practical and liberal education and of fitting "the 
youth of the country for the professions, the farms, the mines, the 
manufactories; for the investigation of science, and for mastering all 
the practical questions of life with success and honor." 

This great growth and important work render very pressing the 
questions of administration and endowment for the future. There is 
need for the same wisdom and devotion that have characterized the 
administration of affairs in the past. Of those who founded and 
built the university many have passed away and others must soon 
follow, in the course of nature. Of the trustees named in the charter 
but one, Alonzo B. Cornell, still sits in the board. Of those first 
elected under its provisions but one, Andrew D. White, remains. Of 
the early benefactors the founder, Hiram Sible}^, John McGraw, 
Jennie McCraw-Fiske, Alfred S. Barnes have died in the midst of 
their labors. Of others who have powerfully aided by their counsels 
in the development of the university many are also dead, including 
Horace Greeley, Erastus Brooks, George W. Schuyler, Charles J. 
Folger, Douglas Boardman, and Henry W. Sage. There remain of 
those who have helped to direct its destiny from the earliest days 
only Andrew D. White, Alonzo B. Cornell, Stewart L. Woodford, 
Henry B. Lord, Francis M. Finch, and a few others. In the future 
the administration of affairs must pass more and more into new 
hands and these new questions must be solved by new friends and 
benefactors. 

Fortunately all new questions are half solved in advance of any 
positive action, for there still remains and must always remain, as 
the unalterable basis of the university, to which all else must be sub- 
servient, those foundation ideas laid firm and deep by Ezra Cornell 
and Andrew D. White; the close union of liberal and practical edu- 
cation, absolute equality among all, even the most diverse courses of 
studies, and the adaptation and extension of the privileges built upon 
this foundation to every person who may ask them and to every need 
of the age. The history of Cornell University has been the history 
of the development of these ideas and their translation into the high- 
est forms of usefulness and dignity. Its history for the future, if it 



CORNELL UNIVEBSITY. 421 

is true to its great mission, will be but the deepening and broadening 
of the same beneficent purposes. 

BIBLIOGKAPHY. 

1. Public Acts and Documents. 

The legislative proceedings relative to the incorporation and endowment of Cornell 
University may be followed in the journals of the senate and assembly 
of New York for 1865. For previous proceedings relative to the land 
grant and the People's College see the journals for 1863 >and 1864. 

The Cornell University. Speech of Hon. Andrew D. White, in [the] senate [of 
New York] , March, 1865. pp. 8. 

The legislation affecting the university may be found in the Revised Statutes of 
the State and the session laws. All legislation down to 1892 is included 
in the Laws and Documents relating to Cornell University, published 
by the university in that year. This publication also contains all public 
documents relating to the university. 

The reports of the comptroller of the State since 1864 are of value in following 
the history of the land grant and the disposition of the scrip. Mr. Cor- 
nell's reports to the comptroller are also of great value. 

The relation of the State to the land-scrip fund is decided in the case of The 
People ex rel. Cornell University v. Davenport, comptroller (117 N. Y., 
549). 

The relation of the State and the university to the Cornell endowment fund and 
the history of the McGraw-Fiske will contest appear in the decisions in 
the matter of McGraw (45 Hun., 354; ib.. Ill N. Y., 66); Cornell Uni- 
versity V. Fiske (136 U. S., 152). 

The land-grant history is enriched by the " History of the Agricultural College 
Land Grant of 1862" (Ithaca, 1890, pp. xx, 106), by S. D. Halliday, attor- 
ney for the university which grew out of the first case above cited and 
contains the decision in the case. 

The investigation made, at the request of Mr. Cornell, by the legislature of New 
York in 1873-74 resulted in the three following documents: 
State of New York: Senate (1874) Document No. 92. Majority report of the 
commission to inquire into the college land grant, etc. [Albany, 1874.] 
pp. 40. 

Signed by W. A. Wheeler and John D. Van Buren. 

State of New York: Senate (1874) Document No. 93. Minority report of the 
commission to inquire into the college land grant, etc. [Albany, 1874.] 
pp. 10. 

Signed by Horatio Seymour. It concurs with the majority report in vindicating Mr. 
Cornell, but differs as to the relation of the State to the Cornell endowment fund. 

State of New York: Senate, 1874, Document No. 103. Testimony in investiga- 
tion of the college land grants, etc. [Albany, 1874.] pp. 498. 

2. Histories of the University. 

A "Sketch of the beginning of Cornell University" was in 1876 prepared by 
Vice-President William Channing Russel, to be read before the University 
Convocation of the State of New York. The paper, if read, never appeared 
in the printed report of the convocation; but the manuscript of it is in 
the library of the university, and has been of much use. There did appear, 
however, in the convocation's report for 1876, under the head of "Uni- 
versity necrology," brief sketches, by Vice-President Russel, of Ezra Cor- 
nell and of John Stanton Gould. 



422 HISTORY OF HIOHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

Historj' of Cornell University in the twenty-five years of its existence, by Prof. 
Waterman Thomas Hewett, published in "Landmarks of Tompkins 
County," 1894. 

Cornell University: Her general and technical courses. By F. C. Perkins. 1891. 

Outside its ovs^n publications, the yearly reports of the university to the regents of 
the University of the State of New York, printed in full or in abstract in 
the reports of that body to the State legislature, form, perhaps, the most 
important series of data; but their contents are usually an abridgment of 
that of the university's own "Register" for the corresponding year. 

3. Lives of the Founder. 

In Memoriam: The death and burial of Hon. Ezra Cornell, founder of Cornell 
University. Ithaca, 1874. pp. 40. 

Apparently compiled and published by the Ithaca Journal, from whose columns all 
the contents of the pamphlet are taken. 

A memorial address, delivered in Library Hall [Ithaca], January 11, 1875, 
" Founder's Day." In commemoration of the life and character of Ezra 
Cornell, founder of the Cornell University. By Rufus P. Stebbins, pastor 
of the First Unitarian Church. Ithaca, 1875. pp. 34. 

Dr. Stebbins was the close personal friend of Mr. Cornell, who was an attendant upon 
his church. 

Biography of Ezra Cornell, Founder of the Cornell University. [By Alonzo B. Cor- 
nell]. New York, 1884. pp.322. 

The author, late the governor of New York, is the eldest son of Ezra Cornell, and by 
the charter a trustee of the university. He writes largely from personal observation. 

The Life and Services of Ezra Cornell: An address delivered at Cornell University 
on Founder's Day (January 11, 1887), by Francis M. Finch, judge of the 
court of appeals of the State of New York. [Ithaca, 1887.] pp. 16. 

Judge rinch was one of the earliest and closest associates of Mr. CiorneTl in the foun- 
dation of the university, and for long, as librarian of the Cornell Library in Ithaca, an 
ex officio trustee. 

My Reminiscences of Ezra Cornell: An address delivered before the Cornell Uni- 
versity on Founder's Day, January 11, 1890, by Andrew Dickson White,! 
LL. D., L. H. D., first president of the university. Ithaca, 1890. pp. 43^ 

4. Publications of the University. 

(Of the manifold publications of the university, only those are here chronicle^ 
which are of the first importance to the student of its general history. ) 

Report of the committee on organization, presented to the trustees of the Cornel| 
University October 21, 1866. Albany, 1867. pp. 48. 

Signed, for the committee, by Andrew D. White, who was the chief author of the 
report. 

The Cornell University: First general announcement. [Albany, 1867.] pp. 19. 

A second edition, printed in the spring of 1868, has a list of the professors alreadj 
appointed, with biographical notices of them. 

The Cornell University: Second general announcement. Albany, 1868. 

A second edition, with additions (pp. 37), was issued in the same year. The sam^ 
pamphlet was also published under the title of "Circular to school commissioners, citj 
superintendents, and supervisors," a circular of the State superintendent of publid 
instruction being prefixed to this second edition. A four-page supplement to the sec4 
ond general announcement, containing courses of study and conditions of admission^ 
was later published. 



CORNELL UNIVERSITY. 423 

The Cornell University: Account of the proceedings at the inauguration, October 

7, 1868. Ithaca, 18C9, pp. 37. 
The Cornell University Register. Yearly. 1868 to the present. 27 vols. 

The annual catalogue of the university. The first issue bore the title of "Catalogue 
of the officers and students of the Cornell University for the academic year 1868-69," 
etc., but it was followed by a " Register " in the same year. Since 1886 the Register 
has been supplemented by the "Annual announcement of the School of Law," and 
annual announcements are issued by some other schools. 

The Ten- Year Book of the Cornell University. Decennially. 1878, 1888, 1898. 
3 vols. 

A catalogue of the officers and matriculates of the university, with biographical sta- 
tistics of its graduates. Compiled by the librarian of the university. 

Reports of the President. Yearly. 1880-81, 1882-83, to the present. 17 vols. 

The report for 1881-83 was not published. Appended, in full or in abstract, have usu- 
ally been the reports of heads of departments and colleges to the president. 

Reports of the Treasurer. 

In some years these reports are bound up with the reports of the president, but of 
late they have been printed separately. 

The Library Bulletin of Cornell University; edited by the librarian. 1882 to 1896. 
3 vols. 

Appearing at irregular intervals and devoted mainly to the additions to the library, 
but containing lists of the publications of professors and many notes of importance for 
the history of the library. Since 1896 the list of publications by professors has appeared 
as an appendix to the president's report. 

Laws and Documents Relating to the Cornell University. Ithaca, 1870, pp. 91; 
1883, pp. 161; 1893, pp. 231. 3 vols. 

Certain regulations proposed for the Cornell University. Ithaca, 1870. pp. 8. 

Report submitted to the trustees of Cornell University in behalf of a majority of 
the committee on Mr. Sage's proposal to endov^r a college for women. By 
Andrew D. White, chairman of the committee. Ithaca, 1872. pp. 40. 

The Cornell University: What it is and what it is not. Ithaca, 1872. pp. 30. 

By President White. 
Proceedings at the laying of the corner stone of the Sage College of the [Cornell] 
University, May 15. 1873; [with the] report to the trustees on the estab- 
lishment of said college. Ithaca, 1873. pp. 134. 

Of importance as regards the admission of women to the university. 

Proceedings at the unveiling of the portrait of the Hon. Justin S. Morrill, . . . 
June 20, 1883. Ithaca, 1884. With portrait. 

The addresses of President White and of Senator Morrill are of historical value. 

Letter of Andrew Dickson White, LL. D., resigning the presidency of Cornell 
University. Ithaca, 1885. pp. 8. 

Cornell LTniversity: Proceedings in memory of Louis Agassiz, and in honor of 
Hiram Sibley. Commencement week, 1885. Ithaca, 1885. 

The Presidency of Cornell University: Remarks of Andrew Dickson White, pre- 
sented in accordance with the request of the trustees that he would 
address them regarding the election of his successor. Ithaca, 1885. pp. 28. 

Proceedings and addresses at the inauguration of Charles Kendall Adams, LL. D., 
to the presidency of Cornell University, November 19, 1885. Ithaca, 1886. 
pp. 77. 

Cornell University: Report of a special committee on the establishment of a 
department of law, together with a preliminary announcement of the 
action of the trustees in establishing such a department. Ithaca, 1886. 
pp. 28. 



424 HISTOEY OF HiaHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

Cornell University: Its significance and its scope. An address, . . . 1886, by- 
Charles Kendall Adams, LL. D., president of the University, Ithaca, 1886. 
pp. 19. 

Cornell University: Report of the executive committee on the reorganization of 
the department of history and political science, adopted January 18, 1887. 
Also, a letter from ex-President White, offering as a gift to Cornell Uni- 
versity his library of works on history and political science, and the action 
of the trustees accepting the same and reorganizing the department. 
[Ithaca, 1887.] pp. 8. 

A People's University: An address delivered before the Cornell University on 
Founder's Day, January 11, 1888, by J. G. Schurman, professor of philos- 
ophy. Ithaca, 1888. pp. 32. 

Exercises at the dedication of Barnes Hall, June 16, 1889. Ithaca, 1889. pp. 39. . 

Exercises and addresses at the laying of the corner stone of the University Library 
Building, October 30, 1889. Ithaca, 1889. pp. 32. 

Proceedings of the board of trustees of Cornell University, including the minutes 
of the executive committee, July 21, 1885-July 22, 1890. Ithaca, 1890. 
pp. 387. -• 

Ibid., 1890. 

Proceedings and addresses at the inauguration of Jacob Gould Schurman, LL. D., 
to the presidency of Cornell University, November 11, 1892. Ithaca, 1892. 
pp. 81. 

Proceedings and addresses at the twenty -fifth anniversary of the opening of Cor- 
nell University. [Edited by Prof. George L. Burr.] Ithaca, 1893. 

Memorial exercises in honor of Henry Williams Sage. [Held Feb. 22, 1898.] 
Ithaca, 1898. pp. 80. 

A Generation of Cornell, being the address given June 16, 1898, at the thirtieth 
annual commencement, by Jacob G. Schurman, president of the university. 
New York, 1898. pp. 58. 

5. Alumni Publications, 

Proceedings of the associate alumni of Cornell University. Yearly. 1884 to the 

present. 
Reports of the alumni trustees to the alumni of Cornell University. Yearly. 1884, 

1886, to the present. 12 vols. 

Since 1887 this report, made in obedience to the resolution of the alumni, that the uni- 
versity trustee "last elected by the alumni, at the end of the first year of his office, 
make a report on the condition and needs of the university," has been included in the 
"proceedings of the associate alumni." The reports are as follows: 1884, James Fraser 
Gluck; 1886, George R. Van De Water; 1887, Mynderse Van Cleef ; 1888, David S. Jor- 
dan; 1889, Daniel E. Salmon; 1890, Frank H. Hiscock; 1891, Walter C. Kerr; 1893, Robert 

H.Treman; 1893, George B. Turner; 1894, Charles S. Francis; 1895, ; 1896, Daniel E. 

Salmon; 1897, ; 1898, Jared T. Weidman. 

Petition of the alumni of Cornell University in opposition to honorary degrees, 
presented to the board of trustees Wednesday, October 27, 1886. Ithaca, 
1886. pp.13. 

6. Undergraduate Publications. 

The Cornell Era. Weekly. 1868 to the present. 30 vols. 
The Cornellian. Yearly. 1868 to the present. 30 vols. 

An illustrated annual, published under the varying title of Cornelian or Cornellian, 
at first by the secret fraternities of the University, then (since 1883) by the successive 
junior classes. In 1877 and again in 1878 both a Cornelian and a Cornellian appeared. 



CORNELL UNIVERSITY. 425 

The Cornell Times. Weekly. 1873-74. 1 vol. 

The Cornell Review. Monthly. 1873-1886. 13 vols. 

Cocagne. Fortnightly. 1878 (April -June). 6 numbers. An illustrated satirical 
publication. 

The Cornell Daily Sun. 1880 to the present. 18 vols. 

The Association Bulletin ; published by the Cornell University Christian Associa- 
tion. Monthly. 1886 to 1896. 11 vols. 

The Cornell Magazine. Monthly. 1888 to the present. 10 vols. 

The Widow. 1894 to the present. 4 vols. 

Au illustrated satirical biweekly. 

The Crank: Published ... by the students of the Sibley College of the Cor- 
nell University . . . representing the interests of the mechanical and 
electrical engineers. Monthly. 1887-1890. 4 vols. The Sibley Journal 
of Engineering (formerly the Crank). 1890 to the present. In all. 13 vols. 

The New York Law Review. 1895. A monthly periodical published by mem- 
bers of the school of law. 1 vol. 

"?. GrUIDEBOOKS AND DESCRIPTIONS. 

The Cornell University. The university guide. Ithaca, 1870. pp. 31. 
By Prof. Willard Fiske. 

Guidebook of the Ithaca gorge and its surroundings. By William G. Johnson. 

Ithaca, 1873. pp. 58. 
The University Guide: Containing an account of the buildings and collections of 

Cornell University. Ithaca, 1875. pp. 61. 
Students" handbook. Yearly. 1885 to the present. 

A descriptive guide for new students, revised and published annually by the Chris- 
tian Association of Cornell University. 

In and out of Ithaca: A description of the village, the surrounding scenery, and 
Cornell University. By C. H. Thurber [registrar of the university.] 
Ithaca, 1887. 

8. Miscellaneous. 

The more important of the numerous magazine articles which have been devoted 
to Cornell University can readily be found by the aid of Poole's Index. 
Of cyclopedia articles, those in Appleton's American Cyclopedia, in John- 
son's Universal Cyclopedia, and in Stoddart's Encyclopedia Americana, 
being written by ofificers of the university, have a quasi ofl&cial authority. 



426 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY, ISTO. 
[Fnrnislied by the Tiniversity. ] 

Genesee College was founded at Lima, X. Y., in 1851, and for twenty 
years its work Avas carried on at that place. In 1871, in response to 
a demand for a more central location, its grounds and Iniildings were 
abandoned to the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary. The college was 
transferred to Syracuse and reopened under the name of the College 
of Liberal Arts of Syi^acuse I^niversity. In 1873 the Geneya Medical 
College, chartered in 1834, was also transferred to the same city. One 
3'ear later a College of Fine Arts was organized, and these three col- 
leges at x^resent constitute the university. The charter, however, 
]jrovides for dei^artments in theology, law, industrial arts, and letters 
whenever it shall be deemed expedient. 

COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS. 

Three courses of study are at present provided in the College of 
Liberal Arts. 

The classical course is substantially the same as is pursued in the 
best American colleges, including a considerable amount of modern 
languages. 

The Latin scientific course is nearly identical with the classical, 
except in the substitution of German and other subjects for the Greek. 

The scientific course, in the place of Latin and Greek, substitutes 
German and French and some additional studies in mathematics, 
natural sciences, literature, history, and j)hilosophy. 

In the junior year nearly one-third of the student's time is devoted 
to elective work. In the senior year the range of election is somewhat 
larger. 

MEDICAL COLLEGE. 

The Medical College is one of the few that require a graded course 
of instruction instead of simple attendance upon lectures with the 
accompanying examinations. 

Tlie course of instruction extends over a period of three years, and 
consists of lectures, recitations, practical work in the laboratories and 
dissecting room, together with clinical exercises, etc. The division 
of the work is as follows : 

Fii'st year : Anatomy, physiology, chemistry, histology, botany, and 
applied anatomy. 

Second year: Anatomy, physiology, medical chemistry, materia 
medica, practice, surgery, and clinics. 

Third year: Therapeutics, practice, surgery, obstetrics, pediatrics, 
pathology, gynaecology, forensic and State medicine, ophthalmology, 
dermatology, and clinics = 

First-year students receive practical instruction in chemistry, with 
a course of laboratory work extending through both terms. Second- 
year students take a shorter course in purely medical chemistry. 



SYEACUSE UNIVEESITY. 427 

Laboratories liave also been established for practical work in his- 
tology and comparative and human anatomy. 

COLLEGE OP FINE ARTS 

In the college of fine arts three courses of instruction otiIj have been 
organized. It is intended that the scope of this college shall ulti- 
mately include instruction in all the fine arts, that is : 

1. The formative arts : Architecture, sculpture, painting, engraving, 
and the various forms of industrial art; and 

2. The phonetic arts: Music, oratory, poetry, and belles-lettres 
literature. 

Candidates for admission to the course in architecture are examined 
in English grammar, geography, American historj^ arithmetic, nat- 
ural philosophy, algebra as far as to the calculus of radicals, plane 
geometry, and free-hand drawing, sufficient to represent the progress 
usuall}^ made by students in at least one year of thorough and sys- 
tematic study. 

Candidates for admission to the course in painting are examined in 
English grammar, geography, American history, arithmetic, natural 
philosophy, and free-hand drawing sufficient to represent the progress 
usually made in at least two years of thorough and systematic study. 

Candidates for admission to the course in music are examined in 
the same studies as for the course in painting, with the exception 
that two years of thorough and sytematic study in music replace the 
two years in drawing. 

The courses in architecture and painting include systematic and 
progressive instruction in the theory, the history, and the practice of 
architecture and painting, and in those branches of mathematics, 
natural science, historj^, language, and philosophy which bear most 
intimately and directly upon these arts, and without a knowledge of 
which success in the higher domain of art is impossible. 

It is the aim to develop the talents of the students in such a way that 
each student shall retain his individuality of character and manner, 
and not to mold after the same arbitrary method. 

The course in music includes systematic and progressive instruction 
in the the theory, history, and practice of music, and is arranged with 
a view to enable the student to become an accomplished musician. 

Other instruments, as the violin, viola, violoncello, cornet, or 
clarionet, may be substituted for the piano after the freshman year; 
the organ after the sophomore year. 

Vocal instruction may take the place of instrumental after the 
sophomore year. 

The study of vocal music for one year is required of all who pro- 
pose to graduate in the course of music. 

Various accessor}^ branches of study are introduced, which have a 
more or less intimate connection with the art of music, and which 



428 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION" IN NEW YORK. 

also liave a relation to general liberal culture. These are hygiene, 
physics, elocution, rhetoric, English literature; the French, German, 
and Italian languages; ancient, mediseval, and modern history, and 
the histor}^ of civilization; the science of esthetics, and the general 
history of the fine arts. 

Opportunity is given to advanced students, who are fully qualified 
to do so, to assist in instructing the preliminary classes in music, for 
the purpose of giving pedagogic experience under the supervision of 
the faculty. 

• Persons completing the course in architecture receive the degree of 
bachelor of architecture; the course in painting, the degree of bache- 
lor of painting ; the course in music, that of bachelor of music ; spe- 
cial students may receive certificates of progress and proficiency. 

THE HIGHER DEGREES. 

It has been the policy of the university, in order to promote system- 
atic and thorough culture, to confer the master's degree and the 
degree of doctor of philosophy upon any bachelor of arts, of science, 
or of philosophy who shall comply with the following conditions: 
Courses of study have been outlined in English literature, mathe- 
matics, Greek, Latin, modern languages, philosophy, evidences of 
Christianity, chemistry, physical science, esthetics and history of the 
fine arts, history, botany, zoology, and geology. Any three of the 
groups or units designated by the Roman numerals, I, II, III, etc., 
provided they are selected from the same department, is regarded 
as one year's study. On passing a satisfactory examination therein, the 
candidate is entitled to the second degree; i. e., a bachelor of science, 
of philosophy, or of arts is entitled to the corresponding master's 
degree. After satisfactory examination on another year's course of 
study, selected as before explained, the degree of Ph. D. is conferred. 
These degrees are offered to none but regular graduates of colleges, 
and the master's degree conferred in cursu or causa honoris is accepted 
as a substitute for the first year's post-graduate study. In this uni- 
versity a study of Latin equivalent to four books of Caesar is requi- 
site for the degree of B. S., and the higher degrees are not conferred 
upon any who are not thus qualified. 

The candidate appears at the university for examination, and pre- 
sents and defends a thesis of not less than 4,000 words on some sub- 
ject connected with the course of study pursued. Examinations upon 
the work of the two years may be taken at one time, or in two sec- 
tions — each covering the work of one j'^ear — as may be desired; but 
examinations are not given upon smaller fractions of the course. 

The degree of doctor of philosophy is not conferred except upon 
these conditions, and the master's degree is no longer given causa 
honoris. 



SYRACUSE UNIVEESITY. 429 

GOVERNMENT. 

The university is ^^overned T)y a board of trustees consisting of not 
less than 20 nor more than 45 members. All matters of administra- 
tion in which more than one college is interested are in charge of a 
senate, consisting of two trustees, the chancellor, the deans of the 
several colleges, two members of the faculty of liberal arts and one 
from each of the other faculties. The decisions of this senate are 
binding in the absence of any instructions from the trustees. Each 
faculty is supreme in its own department, not having power, how- 
ever, to alter the courses of study without the approval of the senate, 
but, with its dean, having complete control of all matters of adminis- 
tration and discipline. The chancellor is a member of the board of 
trustees and of each of the facuHies, and any professor of any col- 
lege having students from another college has a voice in its faculty 
on all matters pertaining to his work. 

BUILDING. 

The campus of 50 acres is beautifull}^ situated in the southeast part 
of the city, and commands a view of the city and lake and the sur- 
rounding country for many miles. The corner stone of the first build- 
ing was laid August 31, 1871. It is a handsome cut limestone struc- 
ture 180 by 96 feet, four stories in height. It contains the recitation 
rooms, museums, laboratories, and chapel of the liberal art college. 
In 1887 Mr. E. F. Holden, a member of the board of trustees, built 
and presented to the university an astronomical observatory. It is 
built of rock-faced gray limestone, and equipped with an 8-incli 
Alvin Clark telescope, a 3-inch reversible transit, by Troughton & 
Sims, chronograph clock, chronometer, micrometer, etc. It is also 
provided with meteorological instruments. The library building, a 
fireproof structure three stories high, 80 by 90 feet, built of Trenton 
pressed brick, was completed in June, 1889. It is provided with 
abundant rooms and all needed appliances, and has a capacit}^ for 
135,000 volumes. The John Grouse Memorial College edifice, built 
and furnished by the late Mr. John Crouse and his son, Mr. D. Edgar 
Grouse, is of Long Meadow red sandstone, with granite foundation. 
It is four stories high, 162 b}^ 190 feet in extreme dimensions, and is 
one of the most imposing of college structures. The college of fine 
arts is in this building. 

The buildings of the .medical department are eligibly located on 
Orange street, nearly in the center of the city, but a short distance 
from the hospitals and dispensary. They consist of a large brick 
edifice, in which are the various lecture rooms, histological and path- 
ological laboratories, museum, etc. The amphitheater is spacious, 
capable of seating one hundred or more students, well lighted and 
heated, and furnished with all the necessary appliances for properly 
presenting the various subjects demonstrated or lectured upon. The 



430 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

amphitheater, as well as the other lecture and recitation rooms in the 
main building, have additional rooms or cahinets connecting witli 
them in which special dissections are made, and where the various 
preparations in use are arranged for presentation to the classes. 
These rooms are provided with running water and such other conven- 
iences as may be needed. In the rear of the main building is the 
chemical laboratory and dissecting room. 

LIBRARIES AND SCIENTIFIC COLLECTIONS. 

The general college library contains about 35,000 volumes, and is 
open to students daily. It is in charge of a competent librarian. 
Several large funds at present charged with life annuities will be at 
the disposal of the university for increasing its library facilities at the 
death of the donors. 

In April, 1887, the great historical library of Leopold Yon Ranke 
was purchased by Mrs. Dr. John M. Reid and presented to Syracuse 
Universitj^ This is almost invaluable to the student of modern his- 
tory. The library of the Geneva College of Medicine, with the addi- 
tions which have since been made to it, is at the service of student! 
in medicine. So soon as necessary room is provided the college will 
come into possession of the extensive and valuable medical library 
collected by N. C. Husted, M. D., LL. D., of Tarrytown, :N^. Y. 

As a nucleus to a library of the fine arts, valuable books and peri- 
odicals have already been gathered, to which additions will be made 
from time to time, as circumstances shall permit. Several of the most 
important art journals are provided in the reading room. The col- 
lege of liberal arts possesses for illustrating natural science the fol- 
lowing collections : 

1. The Ward series of casts of fossil remains. 

2. An extensive lithologic collection representing all the leading 
types of rocks. 

3. A collection of fossils illustrating especially the palaeontology of 
New York State. 

4. The "Cooper collection" of quartz and its varieties. 
In zoology are : 

1. The "Banks collection" of North American birds, 

2. A consider^ible collection of alcoholic specimens, mostly of 
invertebrates. 

3. A collection of shells with abundant representation of nearly all 
molluscan families. 

4. A collection of insects. 

In botany, a well-ordered herbarium of about 8,000 specimens is 
accessible to students. 

The laboratories are also kept supplied with an abundance of mate- 
rial for class use. 

The college of medicine has an excellent museum, extensive in the 



SYRACUSE UNIVEESITY. 431 

department of pathology, and amply provided with the means of illus- 
tration of the materia medica. 

For the nse of students in painting, the college of fine arts has sev- 
eral thousand photographs, engravings, and chromo lithographs, and 
a good collection of plaster casts procured several years ago. To these 
have been added in the last year a very fine collection of casts pre- 
sented by a friend in New York, and the celebrated Wolif collection 
of engravings, containing 12,000 sheets of rare and costly etchings and 
engravings representing the great masters of the art in all ages. This 
great collection was the gift of Mrs. Harriet Leavenworth, of Syracuse, 
in April, 1889. 

Special facilities for the study of the masters of the organ are 
afforded. 

The university has two pipe organs, which are employed for instruc- 
tion and practice. The one in the large hall of the John Grouse 
Memorial building, built by Frank Roosevelt, is perhaps unsurpassed 
in perfection and completeness by any organ in America. The one 
in the university chapel, built by Johnson & Son, though smaller and 
of less range, is of most excellent quality. 

PROPERTY, ETC. 

From its foundation the nniversit}^ has been coeducational, and 
young women and young men have been admitted to its classes on an 
equal footing. It does not provide rooms or board for its students, but 
they are responsible, like other citizens, to the laws and ordinances 
of the city. The income is derived from tuition receipts and produc- 
tive endowment funds. The net value of its property in 1890 was 
about $1,792,655. The number of students in 1889-90 was 575 exclu- 
sive of those pursuing post-graduate courses of study. Since its 
foundation 783 have taken the bachelor's degree, and 98 the degree of 
doctor of philosophy. 

FACULTY. 

The following have been ]3rominent members of its faculty : Joseph 
Cummings, afterwards president of Northwestern University, Evans- 
ton, 111. ; John M. Reid, secretary of missionary society of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church; William Wells, professor of modern languages of 
Union College; S. A. Lattimore, professor of chemistry in Rochester 
University; Alexander Winchell, of Michigan University, and E. O. 
Haven, late bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 

PUBLICATIONS. 

Annonncement of Syracuse University, 1871, 16 pages. 
Annuals from 1872 to 1890, inclusive. 
Announcements of College of Medicine, 1872 to 1890. 
Manual of College of Fine Arts, 1874, 1875, 1882. 
Post-Graduate Courses of Study, 1876, 1878, 1883, 1884, 1886, 1889. 



432 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATIOlSr IN NEW YORK. 

Syracuse University: Inauguration and Corner Stone, 1871, pp. 40. 
Inauguration of Alexander Winchell as Chancellor of Syracuse University, pp. 79. 
Bulletin of Biological Laboratory No. 1 : List of Birds of Onondaga County, by 

Morgan K. Barnum. No. 1, pp. 34. 
Syracussean [Student Annual] , 1877, 1878, 1879, 1880, 1881. 
Onondagan [Student Annual] , 1883, 1884. 1885, 1886, 1887, 1888, 1889, 1890. 
University Herald, Monthly, Vol. I-XVIII, 1872-1890. 
Syracusan, Monthly, Vol. I-XII, 1877-1890. 
University News, Weekly, Vol. I-III, 1888-1890. 

Annual Report to Board of Trustees, 1874, by Alexander Winchell, pp. 17. 
Address to Members of Conference of the M. E. Church in New York, 1875, by 

Chancellor Haven, pp. 4. 
Statement of Syracuse University, 1878, Chancellor Haven, pp. 12. 
Charter and By-Laws of Syracuse University, 1887. 
Statement of Syracuse University, 1884, by Chancellor Sims. 
Alumni Record of Syracuse University, 1872-1886, including Genesee College, 1853- 

1871, and Geneva Medical College, 1835-1872. Prepared by J. H. Tartman, 

'78; C. W. Winchester, '67; L. M. Underwood, '77. 



ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE, 1871, BROOKLYN. 

This college was incorporated iu 1871 under the general law tor the 
formation of benevolent, charitable, scientific, and missionary socie- 
ties. It is under the control of the Roman Catholic Church, and 
maintains a theological as well as a collegiate department. 

The president of the institution is the Very Rev. J. A. Hart- 
nett, C. M., and the faculty comprises eleven members. The number 
of students in 1896 was 109 and the net value of its property about 
$400,000. 



ST. BONA VENTURE'S COLLEGE, 1875, ALLEGANY. 



I 



This is a college in the hands of the " Brothers of the minor order 
of St. Francis, who are vowed to poverty and devoted to education." 
Beyond a bare support they draw nothing from the funds of the col- 
lege. The order insures to the college a perpetual succession of com- 
petent teachers.^ It was founded as an academy in 1859, and given 
a conditional charter by the regents in 1875, which charter was made 
absolute January 11, 1883. Allegany, in Cattaraugus County, is the 
seat of the college. Its reports to the regents are verj^ meager, and 
few facts as to the value of its property can be given. The total 
income in the year 1888-89 was $33,600, of which $30,500 was from 
tuition fees. It is under the presidency of the Very Rev. Joseph 
Butler, O. S. F., who has a force of 20 instructors. The students 
number 103. The courses of study are four — commercial, scientific, 
classical, and ecclesiastical. 



' Reports of January 11, 1881, of committee of regents on question of granting 
full charter, quoted in Hist, and Stat. Rec, p. 340. 



CANISIUS COLLEGE. 433 

CANISIUS COLLEGE, 1883, BUFFALO. 

Canisius College is of recent origin. The only trustwoi-thy informa- 
tion obtainable concerning it is to be found in the historical and 
statistical record of the regents, 1885 : 

Canisius College is located in Buffalo and conducted by the members of the 
Society of Jesus. It was incorporated (by the regents) without provisional 
requirements January 11, 1883. In the report made by the committee at the time 
of granting a charter it is stated that the buildings are very extensive and admir- 
ably adapted to the uses of the college. Its library and philosophical apparatus 
are good, and the revenues abundant for its uses. The property with which it 
was proposed to endow the college was estimated to be worth $240,600 by fair 
and competent judges. 

A few more facts in regard to the history of the college can be 
found in the regents' annual reports. 

It is under the direction of Rev. John I. Zahm, S. J. There are 
30 instructors and 62 students; the course is of three years' duration, 
the sophomore year of the usual college course having been omitted. 



THE NIAGARA UNIVERSITY, 1883. 

Is under the auspices of the Congregation of the Mission. It was 
incorporated by the regents in 1883, and consists of three distinct 
departments — the Seminary of our Lady of the Angels, at Suspen- 
sion Bridge, and the law school and the medical school in Buffalo. 

The chancellor of the university is the Yevy Rev. Patrick MacHale, 
C. M., D. T>. 

STATISTICS OF STUDENTS AND INSTRUCTORS. 

Department of Arts: 

Students of college grade 86 

Instructors 9 

The instructors receive no compensation for their services except 
that required by the rules of the order. 
The net property amounts to $187,560. 



ST. FRANCIS COLLEGE, 1884, BROOKLYN. 
[Prepared by order of the president, Brother Jerome.] 

St. Francis College was founded in 1859, incorporated in 1868, and 
chartered in 1884. It occupies commodious and well-arranged prem- 
ises at 300 to 312 Baltic street and 29 to 33 and 37 to 47 Butler street, 
near Court street, Brooklyn. It has a frontage of 175 feet on each 
street. The buildings are five stories high, with a fine court between 
them adorned with lawns, fountains, shade trees, and flower beds. 
The president, vice-president, and, generally speaking, the majority 
3176 28 



434 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IIT NEW YORK. 

of the staff belong to the Franciscan Order, but eminent lay help is 
promptly secured whenever death or any other inevitable mishap 
leaves a void in the ranks of the religious. As a rule, the lives of the 
latter are so uneventful as not to be interesting to the general reader, 
and they all die with the wish expressed or implied that the record of 
their services should be entombed with their bodies. This is true, in 
a special manner, of the religious order of which Francis of Assisi 
was the founder. We could give several names of the past and 
present of high distinction in the different departments of our collegi- 
ate programme, and of some who have made a mark in English litera- 
ture, but in deference to well-known modesty we shall refrain from 
making them public. 

The fortune of the college, financially speaking, has varied with 
the times, but the attendance has been always very respectable and 
remarkably steady from entrance into '^nj of the classes to the com- 
mencement evenings, when the names of graduates are announced. 
A general average of attendance struck for the past twenty years 
might be put down at 360, including boarders and day scholars. The 
attachment of alumni and students to the college and its traditions 
has become a household word in Brooklyn. The entertainments given 
by the literary unions in connection with the college and the several 
commencement exercises have won unstinted praise from the press 
and public audiences. 

The course of studies embraces English literature, rhetoric, poetry, 
elocution, history, geography, phonography, and science of accounts; 
mathematics; the physical sciences — natural philosophy, chemistry, 
outlines of phj^siology, botany, zoology, and geology; the Greek and 
Latin, French and German languages. The educational programme 
has been gradually extended, comprising at present every branch 
required for entering first-class universities and any department of 
professional studies or mercantile j)ursuits. The library of the col- 
lege has 1,500 volumes of the very Choicest selection in literature, 
science, and art. Many of the graduates of the college have acquired 
a high reputation in different walks of life. The college is exten- 
sively represented in the Catholic priesthood throughout the diocese 
of Brooklyn and in other dioceses of the United States adopted by its 
graduates. It has also a large and distinguished showing in the legal 
and medical jDrof essions, and its alumni are found in some of the fore- 
most mercantile firms of Brooklyn and the neighboring cities. Our 
commercial department is entirely separate from the classical, scien- 
tific, and philosophical. We have not as yet been pained with the 
report of a failure on the part of students who received diplomas from 
this department. 

Brother Jerome, president of the college, has from its infancy 
watched over its destinies and largelj^ shaped its programme and 
progress. He has been ably assisted by many talented members of a 



POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE OF BROOKLYN. 435 

religions body of teachers wliose numbers and sphere of usefulness 
are annually extending. Nearly every section of the United States 
is represented in our classes, and Ave have had for some years quite a 
number of students from Mexico and the States of Central America. 



POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE OF BROOKLYN, 1890. 
FOUNDATION. 

The Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, incorporated under the laws 
of the State of New York, is the completed reorganization and out- 
gi-owth of the former Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute. 
Its origin dates from the foundation of that institution, which was 
incorporated by the board of regents as an academy in April, 1854. 

Its curriculum, at first preparatory, in the main, for college and for 
business pursuits, was steadily enlarged and extended, until, by the 
year 1870, two courses of study had been provided, leading, respec- 
tively, to the degrees of bachelor of science and bachelor of arts. 

Its powers under the academic charter and its equipment were 
found inadequate for advanced Avork, and it was finally determined 
to procure a new charter with wider powers. In January, 1890, a 
college charter was granted by the regents to this institution under 
the name of the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. 

DEPARTMENTS. 

The educational institution as now established comprises two gen- 
eral departments, viz, the institute and the academic department. 

THE INSTITUTE. 

The institute comprehends all the higher educational work. It pro- 
vides at present in its various departments of instruction four-year 
courses of study, equivalent in all respects to like courses in colleges 
and technological schools leading to the bachelor's degree. The con- 
ditions for admission correspond generally to those for entrance into 
the freshman class of the leading schools of science and arts. The 
institute courses are, however, specially arranged to secure a conti- 
nuity and progression in the advanced branches of those courses of 
study which are begun in the academic department of the institution. 

THE ACADEMIC DEPARTMENT. 

The academic department comprises the preparatory courses of the 
institute and all work lower in grade than that conducted in the 
institute. 

Its courses are designed to preiDare students thoroughly for entrance 
into the institute or for admission into any of the colleges. It pro- 
vides also for students not intending to pursue a college or technical 



436 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

course, but who desire to fit themselves for mercantile life, a course 
of instruction specially designed for this end. 

The president of this institution is David H. Cochran, Ph. D. , LL. D. 

(From "The Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. Retrospect and 
Outlook." Issued by the corporation, Brooklyn, 1890.) 



KEUKA COLLEGE, 1890. 

This institution, situated at Keuka, in Yates County, was granted 
a provisional charter by the regents in 1890, but surrendered it in 
1895, not having attained the requirements for an absolute collegiate 
charter. 

The following minute of the proceedings of the regents appears in 
the report of the secretary for 1897, page 173 : 

Keuka College. — The request of the trustees of Keuka College, that its provi- 
sional charter be made absolute, was submitted with the reports of the head 
inspector as to its financial and educational condition. 

Voted, That the secretary notify the trustees that the institution does not meet 
the minimum requirements of ordinance 5 for college rank, and that therefore an 
absolute college charter can not be granted; but that in view of all the facts the 
regents have extended the provisional charter for three j^ears in order to allow 
ample opportunity to meet the minimum conditions of the ordinances for a full 
college charter. (November 4, 1897.) 



I 



PROTESTANT COLLEGE AT SAO PAULO, 1891. 

Chartered by New York legislature in 1891. Located at Sao Paulo, 
Brazil. Its history not within the scope of this volume. 



CHRISTIAN COLLEGE IN CHINA, 1893. 



i 



Incorporated by the regents in December, 1893, and located at 
Canton, China. 



ADELPHIA COLLEGE, 1896, BROOKLYN. 

This college was incorporated by the regents June 24, 1896, and 
began organized work in the fall of that year. 



CHAPTER 6. 

UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES FOR WOMEN. 

FIRST EFFORTS TOWARD THE HIGHER EDUCATION OF WOMEN IN- 
NEW YORK STATE. 

New York has reason to be proud of the part it has taken in solving 
the knotty problem of woman's education. Before the Boston Latin 
School had generously offered instruction to girls in summer, when the 
boys did not want to come ; before Oberlin's audacious experiment in 
graduating women in the same class with men; long before the days 
of Mount Holyoke and Elmira and Vassar, an attempt was made in 
eastern New York to secure for women a higher standard of educa- 
tion. It was made by a remarkable woman, Mrs. Emma Willard, 
whose name the college woman of to-day delights to honor. 

Mrs. Willard was the preceptress of a girls' school which she had 
established in 1814 at Middlebury, Vt. This seminary she moved to 
Waterford, N. Y., in 1819, hoping that the generosity of New York 
State toward the education of men might be extended to the educa- 
tion of women. With this hope she made, in 1819, an application to 
the legislature for aid, accompanying her petition with a "Plan for 
female education. " In spite of the fact that Governor De Witt Clinton, 
in his annual message, strongly supported the application, and in 
spite of the masterly character of the plan itself, the legislature did 
not respond. 

Mrs. Willard then set to work to accomplish her purpose by other 
means. She elaborated the courses of study in her own school. This 
in 1821 was moved to Troy, and became known as the "Troy Female 
Seminary." Here Mrs. Willard worked until 1838. Finding the 
existing text-books inadequate in some departments of instruction, she 
attempted to supply the deficiency. It is said that she was the first 
to introduce the study of map drawing into schools. She prepared 
charts for historical and geographical study, for which she was awarded 
a gold medal at the World's Fair in London in 1851. The work in 
English at this seminary was of an unusually high character. 

Many successful teachers have been sent out from this institution, 
which is still engaged in active work. Mrs. Willard severed her con- 
nection with it in 1838, leaving it in the hands of her son. She died 
in 1870, in the 84th year of her age. 

Mrs. Willard's attempt to gain the cooperation of the legislature 
in carrying out her plans was a failure. But it may be that her prac- 

437 



438 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION ITST NEW YORK. 

tical demonstration of tlie fact that a woman can obtain a thoroughly 
scholarly education largely by her own efforts and can spend her life 
in imparting it to others without the loss of either health or womanli- 
ness went far toward gaining from the legislature the charter of 
Elmira College in 1855 and of Vassar in 1861. 

It is certain that her demonstrated success stimulated the establish- 
ment of similar ' ' female " seminaries in all parts of the country, and 
thus helped to create a demand for an education equal to that offered 
by the colleges for men. 



ELMIRA COLLEGE, 1855. 
[Sketch furnished by President Van Norden.] 

Elmira College was opened in 1855. The site chosen was on the 
highest terrace of the Chemung, in the center of the beautiful and 
fertile intervale, girt about with hills, on which is built the flourishing 
city of the same name. Here, in a region exceptionally blessed in 
natural resources, with the "garden of America" to the north and 
the most prolific coal-oil and gas area in the world to the south and 
west, a region sure in time to become densely populated and very 
wealthy, it was resolved to carry out to logical conclusion previous 
tentative movements in the direction of the higher education of 
women; and here the very first real experiment in subjecting young 
girls to the tests of the best colleges for men was boldly ventured. 

THE FIRST WOMAN'S COLLEGE. 

The founding of Elmira College marked the commencement of a 
new era in the higher education of women. The quarter century 
immediately preceding had witnessed noble and successful efforts in 
establishing female seminaries, some of which were of great excellence^ 
and high grade. These mainly depended upon the personality ol 
their proprietors, chiefly women, whose high character and executive 
skill gave them deserved success. It was, however, impossible tc 
transfer to successors the personal influence, affection of pupils, anc 
educational skill which gained the well-earned reputation of the 
founders, who, in many instances, after a period of successful labor,! 
retired with a handsome fortune, leaving the seminary as a new busi| 
ness enterprise to some one else. There was no accumulation oi 
educational forces, no conservation of what had been gained, n( 
expectation of permanence and increased value. 

MOTIVES FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COLLEGE. 

The success of the female seminaries, limited as it necessarily was] 
at least challenged thoughtfulness on the possibilities of expansion j 
Good and wise men agreed that the aptitudes and facilities of the 
minds of women had not been exhaustively cultivated, and that tht 
experiment of a higher education need not be faithlessly attempted.1 




THE COLLEGE GROUNDS. 



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ELMIRA COLLEGE. 439 

It was also believed that the associated college life, with its varied 
friendships, its class feeling, its society intimacies, and its loyal love • 
for alma mater might be of very great value in the education of 
women. Of course, college life for women must be purified from the 
objectionable elements so common in our colleges for men. It was 
believed to be possible to furnish an almost ideal home life in a well- 
rep- uated Christian college for women, which might be and ought to 
.. constant training in self-control, spontaneous kindness, and 
aal helpfulness. College life might be the best preparation for a 
n-e home life, for Christian social life, and for church life for young 
■n, and also a superior professional preparation for the highest 
ions as teachers. 

oh was, in general principles, the ideal before the minds of those 

resolved to take the next step upward, from the highest and best 

le seminaries, of which "the Troy" and "Mount Holyoke" 

cj^pes, to a true college for women. The name female college 

iven then becoming common at the South and West, but in no 

nee, so far as we can learn, did it signify a required course of 

higher than that of Troy or Mount Holyoke, although to a few 

granted the legal right to confer degrees. Among these were 

male college at Macon, Ga., and the Wesleyan Female College 

J cinnati. Almost all grades of seminaries and joint-stock insti- 

i,^ > adopted the title "female college," and this has been a seri- 

- jstacle in the way of the recognition of the true rank of 

'-a." 

FIRST STEPS TOWARD ORGANIZATION. 

year 1851 a number of distinguished ministers and laymen 
Jbany to consider the matter of establishing a real college for 
in advance of the best female seminaries, designed to furnish 
higher systematic education, with the best methods of instruc- 
ti<, " a college faculty, with permanent organization into special 

depar tents, and with endowments which should secure a continued 
and inci-easing growth, with a permanent place and honorable rank 
among the most valuable and distinguished educational institutions 
of the country. After careful consideration it was resolved to estab- 
lish such a college somewhere in the State of IsTew York. 

In the following year, 1852, a charter was obtained locating the 
institution at Auburn, with the title Auburn Female University, with 
an able board of trustees from all parts of the State and representing 
the various Christian denominations. A financial secretary was put 
into the field to gather subscriptions and enlist the Christian public 
in this new institution. This secretary was Rev. Harvey A. Sackett, 
whose wife, Mrs. D. E. Sackett, had been prominent among a noble 
band of Christian teachers in New England and New York who were 
earnestly devoted to the uplifting of the standard of education for 
women and had established a number of very superior seminaries. 



440 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK, 

Prominent among these were the seminaries in TJtica, Geneva, Canan- 
daigua, and Leroy. It was principally due to Mrs. Sackett and her 
husband that the idea of founding a college for women was brought 
to the special attention of the gentlemen who held their first confer- 
ence on this subject in the consistory room of the Second Reformed 
Dutch Church of Albany. Dr. Wyckoff, Hon. Amos Dean, and Hon. 
Luther Tucker, of Albany ; Dr. Beman, of Troy ; Dr. Mandeville, of 
Hamilton College; Dr. Hickok, of Auburn; Dr. Hogarth and Professor 
Boyd, of Geneva; Dr. Kendrick, of Rochester, and other prominent 
educators gave the enterprise their hearty approval and cooperation, 
and actively served on the board of trustees. 

CHARTER. 

Great difficulty was encountered in raising funds. The new era of 
large donations had not yet come. With an encouraging prospect of 
pecuniary help from Elmira, the question of location was reconsidered 
and the proposed institution transferred from Auburn to Elmira in 
1853, aad rechartered in 1855 as the Elmira Female College. Mr. 
Simeon Benjamin, an elder in the First Presbyterian Church, became 
warmly interested in the enterprise. He became chairman of the 
board of trustees and also treasurer of the college, and by his able 
financial management, and generous advances and gifts of much 
needed funds at critical times, he gained for the college its secure 
though moderate pecuniary success, and left a generous legacy upon^ 
condition that the synod would take the college under its care. The 
donations and legacy of Mr. Benjamin, extending through the first 
ten years of the college history, amounted to the sum of $80,000. 
During this period the college also received from the legislature 
$35,000, from the Maxwell brothers, Geneva, $10,000, and more recently 
from the Marquand estate, $25,000, and from local subscriptions at 
various times $50,000. But this all came so slowly that the college 
has always labored under great difficulty in putting itself in favorable, 
attractive comparison with the new colleges for women which began 
with abundant means, and which have never felt need of economy. 

Elmira College has been compelled by comparatively limited means, 
as well as by conscientious principle, to offer excellence of instruction 
and the best possible training of the personal character of students 
as its most important attractions and elements of value, so that while 
waiting anxiously for donations and legacies it might become more 
clear that the college was unquestionably worthy of them and would 
surely make the best possible use of them. Two figures have been 
very prominent in the history of its faculty. 

PRESIDENCY OF DR. COWLES. 

Rev. Augustus W. Cowles, D. D., LL. D., its only president for the 
first thirty-five years, distinguished himself for scholarship at Union 
College, where he graduated in 1841. For two years thereafter he 



ELMIEA COlLLEaE. • 441 

tauglit. After fiiiisliiug his theological course at Union Theological 
Seminaiy, he preached for ten years at Brockport, N. Y. In 1856 he 
was called to the presidency of Elmira College. Besides presiding 
over the college, he has at times filled the chairs of Latin and Greek, 
and all the time those of mental and moral philosophy, Christian 
evidences, biblical literature, and aesthetics. 

The college itself and its alumnse are the best witnesses to his worth 
and work. At the age of 70, and while in the full vigor of mental 
jDOwer, he retired from the executive work of the college to continue 
in his beloved work of teaching. He became president emeritus and 
professor of the same branches that for so many years occupied his 
attention, and, hale and youthful, continued to lecture with great 
vigor and acceptableness on the old loved themes. 

Rev. Darius R. Ford, D. D., present and long time professor of 
the natural sciences, furnishes another instance of rare combination 
of gifts, great dignity, and suavity of manner and uncommon dexterity 
in imparting knowledge. For a generation (since 1863) he has been 
a mighty local force in all educational matters. Well preserved and 
in the ripeness of his power, on him depended no small part of the 
success and prosperity of the management. 

PRESIDENCY OF DR. PHRANER. 

In 1889, on the retirement of Dr. Cowles, Rev. Wilson Phraner, 
D. D., of Sing Sing, IST. Y., was elected to the presidency and entered 
vigorously upon his office ; he was, however, soon forced by failure of 
health to retire, but not without leaving abundant fruit of his brief 
administration. 

PRESIDENCY OF DR. VAN NORDEN. 

Late in 1889 Rev. Charles Van Norden, D. D., recently pastor of 
the North Church, of Springfield, Mass., where he succeeded Rev. 
Washington Gladden, D. D., was elected to the presidency. 

STATISTICS. 

Of graduates and other students passed beyond its care, Elmira Col- 
lege has had over 2,000, to be found everywhere, women of culture, 
of influence, often of wealth, not seldom of fame. Educators, artists, 
elocutionists, musicians, they have in every part of the country made 
for themselves an honorable record. 

Of undergraduates, there has been from the beginning an annual 
average of 150. A recent increase has swollen this number to over 
200. The local reputation for good behavior of these young ladies 
has always been deservedly high, owing no doubt to the admirable 
moral and religious control maintained by the former administration 
and to the atmosphere of self-respect and mutual good-will that has 
ever pervaded the college home. Few appeals have been made to any but 
the highest motives, the marking system has not been emphasized, 



442 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION" IN NEW YORK. 

and in 1800 the last prize was abolished. The practical difficulty in 
tlie government of the institution has been to prevent the students 
from overworking under pressure of only noble motives. 

COURSES OF STUDY. 

In matter of standard, Elmira has always taken firm and foremost 
position, with many advances. The first freshman class in 1857 pur- 
sued the following required studies, usually four or five lessons each 
week : Cicero's orations, Kuhner's Greek grammar, Davies's university 
algebra, descriptive astronomy, critical reading of English poets, out- 
lines of ecclesiastical history, botany and part of Mrs. Somerville's 
physical geography, philosophy of history, with a Sunday lesson in 
Nichols' Helps to Bible Study. 

In the sophomore class Latin and Greek were continued; geometry, 
plane, solid, and spherical, completed; political economy and civil 
government, rhetoric, natural philosophy. 

The junior class studied trigonometry, chemistry, French and Ger- 
man languages, with English literature, Karnes's criticism, logic, geol- 
ogy, and mineralogy. 

The senior class (with no electives) continued French and German 
languages and literatures through the year, conic sections and mathe- 
matical astronomy, mental science, applications of science to useful 
arts, moral philosophy, Paley's natural theology, Butler's analogy, 
with a Sunday lesson in Gregory's Evidences of Christianity. This 
course of study was in good faith designed by experienced college 
men to be fully equivalent to the regular four years' course of study 
at that time required in the best colleges for men. The less amount 
of Latin and Greek was sincerely believed to be fully compensated by 
an extensive and thorough study of modern languages which were not 
required at that time by any other college in the State, and by required 
courses in English literature and extended courses in history, ethics, 
and Christian evidences. It was at that time the most advanced 
course of required study in any institution for women in this country. 

After a few years the other colleges raised their requirements in 
Latin and Greek for entrance to the freshman class and a few intro- 
duced French and German as electives. Elmira allowed three and a 
half years of thorough study of French and German to take the j)lace 
of Greek as a full equivalent, and those who took Latin and Greek 
were required to take either French or German in addition. If Elmira 
could have been supplied with students well prepared for the fresh- 
man class, the course of study above described might have been made 
almost the ideal course for women. 

About 1884 the course of study and the requirements for admission 
to the freshman class were considerably advanced so as to compare 
favorably with the best colleges for women in this State and in New 
England. 




PHI MU PARLOR. 







ELMIRA COLLEGE— OBSERVATORY HALL. 



ELMIRA COLLEGE. 443 

The reqiiireineuts for iidmissioii to-day are those of Smith, Wellesley, 
aud Yassar. 

PREPARATORY DEPARTMENT. 

From the beginning of its history until the present Elmira College 
has sustained a preparatory department of the grade of a first-class 
New England high school. As this has long since ceased to be a 
necessity and, indeed, has become clearly an embarrassment, it was 
resolved in the spring of 1890 to arrange for its progressive abol- 
ishment bj^ discontinuation each year of the lowest remaining class. 
In 1893 the preparatory department came to an end and Elmira became 
a college, pure and simi)le. 

ART AND MUSIC. 

An art school under charge of an artist of national reputation, with 
one assistant, forms a valued adjunct. 

A music school of high aims and most ably officered, with its own 
faculty of six specialists, all enthusiasts in their departments, greatly 
adds to the rej)utation and influence of the college. 

FUNDS, BUILDINGS, ETC. 

The property of Elmira, at fair valuation, is rated at $230,000 over 
and above all indebtedness, of which $25,000 form a beneflciar}^ fund 
for aid of needy and worthy students, and $10,000 represent private 
scholarships. 

The main building of brick, situated on a commanding site facing 
a beautiful campus, is 225 feet long and at the center two-thirds as 
deep, is heated by steam, lighted by electricity, furnished with elevator, 
and can accommodate, if necessary, 130 boarders, besides ample room 
for chapel, parlors, gymnasium, infirmary, recitation rooms, labora- 
tories, music rooms, art studios, and art gallery. 

An astronomical observatory, formerly belonging to the Elmira 
Academy of Sciences, situate on a site of its own near the campus, is 
equipped with a refracting telescope, a sidereal clock, an electric 
chronograph, and star charts. In an enlargement of the observatory 
on the north side there is a museum and a lecture hall, the former 
with mineralogical, geological, and zoological collections, the latter 
for microscopic and telescopic work, for lantern exhibitions, and popu- 
lar scientific addresses. 

All work done in Elmira is intended to be intensely" practical. Mere 
cramming with book learning is held in disfavor. French and Ger- 
man are taught in the original languages, and the students learn to 
converse in these tongues as readily as to translate. Chemistry is 
acquired in actual handling of the reagents. Astronomy is studied 



444 HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

in the observatory, each, student freely using every instrument. So 
of biology, geology, etc. 

The fraternities have never been directly or indirectly represented. 
Two literary societies, originally called Philomathean and Kaloso- 
phian, and now designated simply by the Greek letters "Phi Mu" and 
"Kappa Sigma," comprising only full members of the four college 
classes, meeting on alternate weeks, devote themselves to literature, 
the drama, and good fellowship, much to the general enlivening and 
enjoyment of college life. The social atmosphere is always delight- 
fully cordial, spiced with merriment and graced with affability, and 
finds its outlet not only in the beautiful and artistic societj^ rooms, 
but in the pleasant dining hall, in occasional parlor reunions, and in 
none too infrequent "spreads." 

The merriest and not least useful hour of the day comes immediately 
after a late dinner in a spacious, well-floored, and well-lit hall. This is 
called the ' ' romping " hour, and the gravest Hypatia and most exalted 
Sappho unbends and laughs, sings, and dances to lively music to her 
heart's content. In this same hall later, after the evening study and 
before bedtime, gymnastic and Del Sarte exercises enable the young 
ladies to calm their wearied brains for sleep. 

Degrees are conferred b}^ Elmira only for merit. The practice of 
granting honorary distinction has fallen into disuse. A title from 
this institution represents work of high value actually done under 
competent supervision. 

Elmira College has always issued a general annual catalogue, and 
of late has added thereto, each year, separate catalogues or circulars 
for the art and music schools. No historical volume, however, has 
been published. 

In 1890 the word "female" was legally expunged from the title, 
and the proper designation of the institution now is simply "Elmira 
College." No legal limitation restricts the amount of gifts or of 
bequests in money to Elmira College. 

PRESIDENCY OF DR. GREEN. 

In June, 1893, the Rev. Rufus S. Green, D. D., was elected presi- 
dent, to succeed President Van Norden. He was a graduate of 
Hamilton College of the class of 1867. 



INGHAM UNIVERSITY, 1857, LEROY. 

By an act of the legislature in 1857 Ingham Collegiate Institute at 
Leroy, Genesee County, N. Y., was changed into Ingham University. 
This institution came into existence in 1841 as the Leroy Female 
Seminary. Only women were admitted to the university. It was a 



INGHAM UNIVERSITY. 445 

Presbj^terian school, but- other denominations were entitled to repre- 
sentation in the board of trustees "in proj)ortion to the funds con- 
tributed for its support. " An interesting item for the history of higher 
education of women is the claim on the part of this universitj^ "to have 
been the first to introduce a college curriculum for the education of 
young ladies and the first that was empowered to grant diplomas." 

The regular course extended over four years. Three departments — 
those of literature, music, and art — were open to students. In 1890 
there were 144 collegiate students in the institution; its chancellor was 
the Rev. W. W. Totherole, D. D. ; the number of instructors was 13; 
the net value of the property was 193,755. 

In 1861 this institution received a grant of $5,000 from the State. 

Its collegiate chai-ter was revoked by the regents in 1892. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Historical sketch of Ingham University, 1876. 
Laws, 1857. 
Regents' reports. 



446 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

VASSAR COLLEGE, 1861, POUG-HKEEPSIE. 

[By Margaret Sherwood.] 

It occurred to me that woman, having received from her Creator the same intellectual con. 
stitution as man, has the same right as man to intellectual culture and development. 

It is my hope to be the instrument in the hand of Providence of founding an institution 
which shall accomplish for 3'oung women what our colleges are accomplishing for young men.— 
Mattheiv Vassar. 

Yassar College stands on the bank of the Hudson, 2 miles east of 
Poughkeepsie. The 200 acres that make up the college estate form 
a fitting background of meadow and hill and wood for the red brick 
buildings, the observatory, laboratory, museum, gymnasium, and 
conservatory that cluster around the large main building. 

HOW IT CAME INTO BEING. 

Perhaps the most important event in the history of Vassar is the 
fact of its foundation. That colleges for women should be founded 
having the standards and requirements of the American college for 
men was a wonder that has not yet ceased to call forth expressions of 
astonishment, even though Smith and Wellesley and Bryn Mawr and 
Barnard have risen up to say that Elmira and Vassar were not mis- 
takes. People were busy then, as now, in discussing the limitations 
of woman's mental and physical strength. While they were talking, 
it occurred to a practical man to give them the opportunity to settle 
the cxuestion by fair trial. 

"It is my hope," said Matthew Vassar, when the college was about 
to be opened, "indeed, it has been the main incentive to all I have 
already done, or may hereafter do or hope to do, to inaugurate a new 
era in the history and life of woman. I wish to give one sex all the 
advantages so long monopolized by the other. Ours is and is to be an 
institution for women, not men. In all its labors, positions, rewards, 
and hopes, the idea is the development and exposition, and the 
marshaling to the front and the preferment of women, of their powers 
on every side, demonstrative of their equality with men. * * * 
This, I conceive, ma}^ be fully accomplished within the rational limits 
of true womanliness and without the slightest hazard to the attract- 
iveness of her character. We are indeed already defeated before we 
commence, if such development be in the least dangerous to the dear- 
est attributes of her sex. We are not the less defeated, if it be haz- 
ardous for her to avail herself of her highest educated powers when 
that point is gained. We are defeated if we start upon the assump- 
tion that she has no powers save those she may derive or imitate 
from the other sex. We are defeated if we recognize the idea that 
.she may not, with every propriety, contribute to the world the ben- 
efits of matured faculties which education evokes. We are especially 
defeated if we fail to express by our acts our practical belief in her 
preeminent powers as an instructor of her own sex. " 



I 



VASSAR COLLEGE. 447 

The man to whose generous confidence in women not only the 
daughters of Yassar, but all the college women of America owe a 
debt of gTatitude, was an Englishman by birth. 

THE FOUNDER'S LIFE. 

Matthew Vassar was born on the 29th of April, 1792, at East Dere- 
ham, in the county of Xorfolk, England. His father, a farmer, emi- 
gi-ated to America in 1796, and settled near the city of Poughkeepsie. 
Here he raised barley and brewed ale, ale no less famous than the beer 
that afterwards earned the money to found Vassar. 3Iatthew, when 
a boy of fourteen, seriously objecting to assist his father in the brew- 
ery already- established in Poughkeepsie, disappeared from home. 
With his clothes tied up in a pocket handkerchief, as became a hero, 
with his mother's blessing and her i3arting gift of 75 cents, he crossed 
the river at Xew Hamburg, and walking southward found emijlojTuent 
in a country store near Xewburg. Here he stayed four years, devel- 
oping the business ability that afterwards characterized him, return- 
ing home at the end at that time with 8150. He became his father's 
bookkeeper, afterwards started an independent business, and slowly 
built up a great fortune. Two nephews, Matthew Vassar, jr., and 
John Guy Vassar, were associated Avith hdm in the business before his 
own active connection with it ceased in 1866. 

HIS INTEREST IX EDUCATION. 

The idea of giving to women the opportunity to obtain the liberal 
education of which he had been deprived, was first suggested to Mr. 
Vassar by, a niece, principal of Cottage Hill Seminary in Poughkeep- 
sie. Throughout his busy life he had retained an interest in literature 
and in science, and in looking about the world to see where Ms money 
could be best emi^loyed, it is small wonder that he should think of 
woman and her needs. His interest resulted in the following resolve : 

To build a college in the proper sense of the word, an institution which should 

be to women what Yale and Harvard are to young men. receiving them after suit- 
able preparation at the academies and seminaries, and furnishing them with the 
means for a true liberal education. 

'' It was unoccupied ground,"' wrote President Raymond afterwards. 
" Millions had been spent in colleges for young men, while not a single 
endowed college for young women existed in all Christendom. " 

HIS DEATH. 

This interest in the college never waned until the day of his death, 
June 26, 1868. He had withdra\vn from his position on the executive 
committee of the board of trustees three years before, but still stood 
ready to heli3 with money, with sympathy, or with Ms keen business 
ability. Dr. Raymond ^vi-ote of Mm that "his heart was as big as an 
elephant's and as tender as a babe's." Also : 

It is a wonder how a man without any regular education can so correctly 
appreciate the necessities of such an institution, and the conditions of its success. 



448 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

But it is the purity of his motives and the large and generous catholicity of his 
spirit, in connection with a broad common sense and much business experience, 
that explains it. 

He died while reading Ms annual address to tlie board of trustees, 
in which he wished them ' ' a cordial and final farewell. " 

Not expecting, from my advanced years and increasing infirmities, to meet with 
you officially again, I implore the Divine goodness to guide and direct you in all 
your councils. 

THE CHARTER. 

On the 18th of January, 1861, an act for the incorporation of the 
college was passed by the legislature of the State of New York, the 
bill having been received with much enthusiasm by the members of 
both houses. The first name given to the institution was "Vassar 
Female College," a name it retained until 1867, when the word 
"Female " was omitted. 

BOARD OF TRUSTEES. 

Mr. Vassar had already chosen 29 of his friends to form the first 
board of trustees. Most of them were, like himself. Baptists, though 
Mr. Vassar expressly stated that he wished the college to be non- 
sectarian. The first meeting was held at the Gregory House in 
Poughkeepsie, February 26, 1861. After an address Mr. Vassar 
transferred to the custody of the trustees bonds and mortgages, 
certificates of stock, and a deed of conveyance the value of which 
amounted to $408,000. 

MR. VASSAR' S SUBSEQUENT BEQUESTS. 

In addition to the sum already given, Mr. Vassar presented to the 
college in his lifetime the su.n of 195,000, and at his death bequeathed — 

1. A lecture fund of $50,000. 

2. An auxiliary fund of the same amount. 

3. A library, art, and cabinet fund of the same amount. 

4. A repair fund of over $100,000. 

THE FIRST PRESIDENT. 

At the first meeting of the board Prof. Milo P. Jewett was choseii| 
president of the college. This position he resigned in 1864, his place 
being filled by John H. Raymond, LL. D. Professor Jewett, prior to 
his resignation, had visited the leading schools for both sexes in 
England, France, and Germany, and returned to say that though his 
investigations had been interesting he had been unable to gain defi- 
nite ideas as to what the college should be. The new needs in a new 
eountry seemed to demand original methods of procedure. 

THE COLLEGE BUILDING. 

A contract was made by the board of trustees with James Ren- 
wick, jr., for the erection of the college buildings. The work was 




laiiri r: 



« r 



f f i 
r-* r 




VASSAE COLLEGE. 449 

begnn as soon as possible, and on the 4th of June, 1861, Mr. Vassal* 
•'broke ground" in the i^resenee of a few of his friends, tracing with 
a j)low a part of the trench for the foundation stones of tlie building. 
In spite of the embarrassment from lack of funds during the civil 
war the college building was completed hj 1865, an observatory had 
been erected, and a gymnasium Avas already begun. The main build- 
ing is 500 feet in length, 200 feet through the center, and 164 feet 
through the transverse Avings. It contains six independent dwellings 
for officers, accommodations for 400 students, a chapel, dining hall, 
parlors, library, and a large number of recitation rooms. All pos- 
sible measures were taken to secure the comfort and safety of the 
young women who flocked to its doors. 

ORGAXIZATIOX. 

The legislative authority, now, as at the beginning of the college, is 
vested in the board of trustees, who meet annually. Its officers are 
chairman, treasurer, and secretary. The management of the college 
is intrusted to standing committees — the executive committee, the 
committee on faculty and studies, the committees on the library, on 
cabinets and apparatus, on the art department, on scholarships, and 
for examining securities. 

The internal organization has two branches, educational and domes- 
tic. The executive head of both is the president, upon whom devolves 
the educational direction and discipline of the college, as well as the 
moral and religious instruction of the students. 

The lady principal, who is the president's chief assistant, watches 
over the health, social connections, and habits of the students. For- 
merly the students were kept in order by teachers and faculty, but 
now, under a self-governing system, they have assumed responsibility 
for their own conduct. 

Each professor is the head of his department, having the direction 
of its methods, the organization of its classes, and the supervision of 
the teachers therein. 

The faculty, consisting of president, lady principal, professors, and 
instructors, are empowered to regulate the internal life of the college, 
educational and domestic, subject to the authority of the board of 
trustees. 

The "treasurer's department," the "steward's department," the 
"matron's department,'' the "engineer's department," the "janitor's 
department," and the "farm and garden" minister to the various 
needs of the members of the institution. 

In this way has the ideal of the founder been realized, that the col- 
lege woman should have the domestic comfort and the social life not 
deemed necessary for the college man. 
3176 -29 



450 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDU CATION IN NEW YORK. 

THE COLLEGE OPENED. 

On the 20th of September, 1865, the college was opened with 300 
students, 8 professors, president, lady principal, and 20 assistant 
teachers. Three members of the faculty were women, as were all the 
assistants, it being the founder's opinion that it was due to simple 
justice and economy to have a large part of the instruction given by 
women. In the present faculty six of the professors and all of the 
assistants are women. 

LIONS IN THE WAY. 

Well equipped with instructors and with all the necessary apparatus 
for instruction, well supplied with students, this college, founded for 
the liberal education of woman, was confronted by the question: 
" What is a liberal education for a woman?" Should it incline less 
to the scientific and more to the SBsthetic? Should music and the 
modern languages supplant to any degree the Greek and Latin of the 
men's college? Wisely, the professors resolved to experiment. 

The trustees and founder had decided only a few points. 

1. A complete domestic system must be incorporated with the 
educational. 

2. The course of study must be liberal, thorough, and scientific, 
resembling not the academy or seminary but the American college. 

3. The plan should not be a copy of existing models, but should be 
adapted to the needs of women. The claims of gesthetic culture were 
not to be ignored, and time should be allowed for the study of music 
and art. 

Several questions were still open to discussion: Should the college 
adopt the university system, allowing each student to select whatever 
studies her tastes might indicate, or should the course be to a certain 
degree prescribed? Should the preference be given to language and 
literature study rather than to mathematics? Should the aim be 
to give a practical education, and if so, what might a practical 
education be? 

THE FIRST PROSPECTUS. 

EarljT^ in the spring of 1865 a prospectus was issued, containing a 
provisional plan. Instruction was offered in all collegiate studies, 
the student being allowed to choose which she should take up, though 
her choice was subjected to the approval of president and faculty. 
Candidates for admission should be over 15 years of age and should 
be prepared to pass an examination in arithmetic, English grammar, 
geography, and American history. The different branches to be 
taught were grouped in ten departments, with the statement that the 
scheme was merely tentative. 

The difficulties to be met became apparent during the first year. 
The majority of the students had been poorly prepared. Many of 
them objected to taking up studies they did not like. It became 



VASSAE COLLEGE. 451 

apparent that two measures must be taken : The first, the establish- 
ment of a preparatory school where young women could receive the 
tlioroug'h training necessary for admission to a collegiate course; the 
second, that a thorough course of study must be prescribed for the 
college classes in order to secure the desired results. In this last 
resolve the faculty were aided by the students themselves who, feel- 
ing the need of rigid mental discipline, pleaded for the introduction 
of a definite system with the highest educational standard. 

FIRST CLASSES. 

At the close of the second year an attempt was made to form the 
bodj^ of students into regular classes. The result was as follows: 

Whole number of students 352 

Seniors 4 

Juniors __ ._. 18 

Sophomores 36 

Freshmen 58 

Regular preparatory students 71 

Specials 165 

PREPARATORY DEPARTMENT. 

The preparatory department existed until 1888, when the faculty 
refused to admit students who were unable to enter the college 
classes. This was done on the plea that the admission of younger 
students tended to lower the standard of the institution. 

PERMANENT COURSE OP STUDY. 

The college did not attain a full collegiate character until the close 
of the third year. A plan for a permanent course of study was pre- 
sented to the trustees at their meeting on June 23, 1868, and received 
their approval. 

ORIGINAL CURRICULUM. 
[From the catalogue of 1867-68.] 

There are two regular courses of study pursued in the college, the classical and 
philosophical course and the scientific and modern-language course, and between 
these each student is allowed her choice. In special cases where advanced stu- 
dents desire to supply particular deficiencies in their previous education, courses 
specially suited to their wants will be arranged for them under the direction of 
the president and faculty. 

REQUISITES FOR THE FRESHMAN CLASS. 

1 . For admission to the freshman class in either course the student must be pre- 
pared for examination in the following, or in equivalents: Harkness's Introduc- 
tory Latin Book; Harkness's Reader; Csesar, four books; Cicero, four orations; 
Virgil, six books; Harkness's Latin Grammar, complete; Robinson's University 
Algebra, to equations of second degree; Quackenbos's or Boyd's Rhetoric; out- 
lines of general history. 

2. A further examination will be required — 

(1) For admission to the freshman class, in the classical course: In Harkness's 
Introductory Greek Book, Xenophon's Anabasis, three books, and Ktihner's Gram- 
mar, to syntax. 



452 



HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION UST ISTEW YORK. 



(2) For admission to the freshman class, in the scientific and modern-language 
course: In Otto's French Course, Fasquelle's Colloquial Reader, Williams's English 
into French. 



CLASSICAL COURSE. 

Freshman year. 

First semester. — Latin: Livy, Arnold's 
Prose Composition. 

Greek: Felton's Historians; Klihner's 
Grrammar, syntax; Arnold's Prose Com- 
position. 

Mathematics: Robinson's University 
Algebra, completed. 

English: Exercises in composition. 

Second semester. — Latin: Cicero, de 
Senectute et Amicitia; prose composi- 
tion. 

Greek: Homer's Iliad, six books; Klih- 
ner's grammar, completed. 

Mathematics: Loomis's geometry. 

English: Exercises in grammatical 
analyses. 



SCIENTIFIC COURSE. 

Freshman year. 

First semester. — Latin: Livy, Arnold's 
Prose Composition. 

French: Poiterin's Grammaire; La- 
rousse's Lexicologie, I'' Annee; How- 
ard's Aids to Composition, begun; Scribe 
and Racine. 

Mathematics: Same as in classical 
course. 

English: Same as in classical course. 

Second sernester. — Latin: Same. 

French: Poiterin, 1 " Annee, andHov?-- 
ard's Aids; completed. Racine and Sou- 
vestre. 

Mathematics: Same. 

Botany: Gray's Lessons and Manual, 
with excursions. 

English: Exercises in analysis. 



[Sophomore and junior programmes are omitted.] 

Senior year. Senior year. 



First semester. — Intellectual philoso- 
phy: Haven. 

Anatomy: Gray. 

Chemistry: Stockhardt and Wells. 

Astronomy: Robinson's, begun. 

German: Woodbury's Method; Adler's 
Reader. 

Italian: Grammar and reader. 

Latin: Cicero's Tusculan Disputations. 

Second semester. — Moral philosophy: 
Wayland. 

Physiology: John C. Draper. 

Astronomy: Robinson's, completed. 

Criticism: Kames's Elements. 

Languages: German (Goethe's Iphi- 
genia); Italian (Dante), or Greek (lyri- 
cal poets) . i 

In the junior and senior years each student elects three of the studies laid down 
for each semester, subject to the approval of the faculty. 

PRESENT CURRICULUM. 

Various changes have taken place in the course, as maj^ be seen "by 
comparison of the above with the following extract from the catalogue 

for 1894-95:^ 

' The plan of having two distinct courses, the classical and scientific, was aban- 
doned, and a course partly prescribed, partly elective, was substituted. 



First semester. — Philosophy: Same. 

Anatomy: Same. 

Chemistry: Same. 

Astronomy: Pierce's spherical, begun. 

German: Goethe's Torquato Tasso; 
free compositions. 

Italian: Same as in classical. 

Logic and political economy: Whately 
and Wayland. 

Second semester. — Philosophy: Same. 

Physiology: Same. 

Astronomy: Pierce's, completed. 

Criticism: Same. 

Languages: German, Italian, or 
French literature. 



VASSAR COLLEGE. 453 

Candidates for the freshman class are examined in the following studies: 

English. — In 1895 every candidate will be required to write a short composition 
upon a subject assigned at the time and taken from one of the following works: 

Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice and Twelfth Night; Milton's L'Allegro, 
II Penseroso, Comus, and Lycidas; The Sir Roger de Coverley Papers in the Spec- 
tator; Irving"s Sketch Book; Scott's Abbot; Webster's First Bunker Hill Oration; 
Macaulay's Essay on Milton, Essay on Addison; Longfellow's Evangeline. 

The examination essay should cover not less than two pages, foolscap; it should 
be correct in spelling, punctuation, idiom, and division into paragraphs. 

Beginning with 1896, the entrance requirements will be as follows: 

1. Reading: A certain number of books are set for reading. The candidate is 
required to present evidence of a general knowledge of the subject-matter, and to 
answer simple questions on the lives of the authors. The form of examination 
will usually be the writing of a paragraph or two on each of several topics, to be 
chosen by the candidate from a considerable number — perhaps ten or fifteen— set 
before him in the examination paper. The treatment of these topics is designed 
to test the candidate's power of clear and accurate expression, and will call for 
only a general knowledge of the substance of the books. 

The books set for this part of the examination will be: 

In 1896: Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream; De Foe's History of the 
Plague in London; Irving's Tales of a Traveller; Scott's Woodstock; Macaulay's 
Essay on Milton; Longfellow's Evangeline; George Eliot's Silas Marner. 

History. — Outlines of Greek and Roman history to the establishment of the 
Roman Empire; outlines of American or English history. Any standard history 
of Greece, Rome, England, or the United States may be used. The following are 
recommended: For Greek and Roman history, the sections on Greek and Roman 
history in Sheldon's General History or Myers' General History; for American 
history, Johnston's History of the United States or Fiske's History of the United 
States; for English history, Gardiner's English History for Schools or Montgom- 
ery's Leading Facts in English History. 

Mathematics. — (a) Algebra: The requirements in algebra embrace the follow- 
ing subjects: Factors; common divisors and multiples; fractions; ratio and pro- 
portion; negative quantities and interpretation of negative results; the doctrine of 
exponents; radicals and equations involving radicals; the binomial theorem of the 
extraction of roots; arithmetical and geometrical progressions; putting questions 
into equations; the ordinary methods of elimination and the solution of both 
numerical and literal equations of the first and second degrees, with one or more 
unknown quantities, and of problems leading to such equations. The text-books 
used should be equivalent to the larger treatises of Newcomb, Olney, Ray, Robin- 
son, Todhunter, Wells, or Wentworth. 

(5) Plane geometry, as much as is contained in the first five books of Chauve- 
net's Treatise on Elementary Geometry, or the first five books of Wentworth's 
New Plane and Solid Geometry, or Wells's Plane Geometry, or the first six books 
of Hamblin Smith's Elements of Geometry, or chapter first of Olney's Elements of 
Geometry. 

In order to pursue successfully the work of the college, recent review of the 
work completed early in the preparatory course is necessary. 

Latin. — Grammar, Allen and Greenough or Gildersleeve-Lodge; Latin compo- 
sition. Collar (parts third and fourth) , or Daniell (parts first and second) , or Allen 
(fifty lessons) ; Caesar, Gallic War, four books; Cicero, seven orations (the Manil- 
ian Law to count as two); Vergil, ^neid, six books. Translation at sight from 
Csesar's and Cicero's orations. The Roman method of pronunciation is used. 

The attention of preparatory schools is specially called to the following points: 

1. Latin composition: Greater thoroughness in drilling the student in the gram- 
matical forms and simpler constructions of the language. 



454 HISTOKY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

The advantage of studying Latin prose in connection with the various authors 
read. 

3. Pronunciation: Practice in reading Latin with special attention to vowel 
quantities. Training the ear by the translation of Latin read aloud. 

In addition to the Latin, one other language is required. This may be Greek, 
German, or French. 

In 1896 a third language (French or German) will be required. 

Greek. — Candidates must be able to read at sight easy Greek prose and easy 
passages from Homer; also, to render easy English passages into correct Greek. 
For this they should have thorough training in grammar, with constant practice 
from the start in translating sentences into Greek, and should read carefully at 
least four books of the Anabasis or the Hellenica and three books of the Iliad or 
the Odyssey, with constant practice in translating at sight. They should have at 
command a fair vocabulary, should be able to recognize forms at a glance, and to 
read Greek aloud intelligently and with correct pronunciation. 

Practice in translating from hearing is recommended strongly. 

Gervian {if offered as the second language). — Candidates for the freshman class 
are expected to have a thorough knowledge of German grammar; they must have 
acquired facility in practically applying the rules of construction by translating 
easy English prose into German. They are also required to read and to be able to 
give in German some account of the following works: Immermann, Der Oberhof ; 
Wagner, Goethe's Knabenjahre (Cambridge University Press ed.); Lessing, 
Minna von Barnhelm; Schiller, Wilhelm Tell (Deering ed.); Goethe, Hermann 
und Dorothea; Freytag, Die Journalisten. 

Throughout the course German is the language of the class room, therefore 
good preparation in conversation is necessary, facility in reading and writing 
German script indispensable. 

German {if offered as the third language). — Schmitz, Elements of German Lan- 
guage, I, II. Translation. Three of the following books: Fouque, Undine; Storm, 
Immensee; Heyse, L'Arrabiata; Gerstacker, Germelshausen; Freytag, Soil und 
Haben (Macmillan ed.). 

French {if offered as the second language) . — A thorough knowledge of French 
grammar and ability to translate easy English prose into French. (Whitney, 
Practical French Grammar, recommended). Six of Bocher's College Plays: 
Daudet, La Belle Nivernaise; Souvestre, Un Philosophe Sous Les Toits; Julliot, 
Mademoiselle Solange; Dumas, La Tulipe Noire; Erckmann-Chantria, Le Con- 
sent de 1813. 

As French is the language of the class room, it is essential that candidates for 
admission should have some practice in French conversation. 

French {if offered as the third language).— A knowledge of the fundamental 
principles of grammar. Whitney's Practical French Grammar, part first. Henri 
Greville, Dosia; Octave Feuillet, Le Roman d'un Jeune homme pauvre; Daudet, 
La Belle Nivernaise, and three of Bochers's College Plays. It should be under- 
stood that in these requirements it is the knowledge of the language itself, rather 
than of the grammar which is demanded. 

The full preparation in either French or German should cover a period of at 
least two years, five recitations a week, under competent instructors. 

ADMISSION TO ADVANCED STANDING. 

Candidates for advanced standing not coming from other colleges may be 
admitted, on examination, to the regular course at any time previous to the begin- 
ning of the the junior year. Such students will be examined in all prescribed 
studies antecedent to the desired grade, including the requirements for admission 
to the college, and in such elective studies as shall be chosen by the candidate and 
approved by the faculty. 



VASSAR COLLEGE. 455 

Candidates coming from other colleges must submit their courses of study and 
their certificates to the judgment of the faculty. No student will be received as 
a candidate for the degree of bachelor of arts after the beginning of the senior 
year. 

COURSES AND METHODS OP INSTRUCTION, ARRANGED BY DEPARTMENTS. 

The course of study leading to the baccalaureate degree extends over four years. 

The aim is to give the student the opportunity to follow lines of study continu- 
ously through both the required and the optional portions of the course. 

Through the first two years of the course each student must have fifteen hours 
of class-room work per week. During the last two years, fourteen hours are 
allowed; in 1895-96 this rule will apply to the second semester of the sophomore 
year. 

All elections are subject to the approval of the faculty. No changes in elec- 
tions will be considered after the first Monday o^ the semester. 

Two languages, Latin and the second language offered for entrance to the col- 
lege, are required throughout the freshman year of every candidate for a degree. 
The second language may be Grreek, G-erman, or French. 

An opportunity is given, in the elective part of the course, for beginning the 
study of Greek, German, or French. 

Important changes in the curricultim will go into effect in 1895-96. There will 
be less prescribed work and a number of new elective courses will be offered. 

DESCRIPTION OF THE COURSES. 
FRESHMAN YEAR. 

Latin. — The course in Latin extends through the four years of the undergradu- 
ate course, being required for the first and elective for the last three years. The 
aim of the course is to acquaint the student with the principal phases of literary 
activity among the Romans through the study of representative authors. In the 
department of history, Livy and Tacitus exhibit natural development in style and 
method. Cicero and Lucretius represent opposing schools in Roman philosophy; 
Horace and Juvenal show the growth of satire; Horace, Catullus, Tibullus, and 
Propertius, that of elegy and the lyric; Plautus and Terence, the course of Roman 
comedy. Using these authors as starting points, the endeavor is to bring before 
the student the lines along which the various departments developed, and also 
to show the connection of literature with history and politics, as v/ell as with the 
various social conditions and relations of Roman life. 

The development of the language in literary form is pointed out through expla- 
nations of grammatical forms and constructions, and the relation in which these 
stand to the historical growth of syntax. Much stress is laid on these points in 
connection with the required work of the freshman year, and while attention is 
still directed toward them in the elective courses of the other years (especially in 
the study of Plautus and Terence) , the literary side of the language is made promi- 
nent. Facility in reading Latin is cultivated by translation at sight. The study 
of Latin composition is pursued in the freshman and sophomore years for the 
most part in connection with the authors read. 

Required: 1. Cicero, two orations (Verrine or Philippics), Livy, Books 'XXI- 
XXII (Westcott) or Books V-VII (Cluer) [3] Latin prose composition [1]. First 
semester. 

2. Livy (continued), Cicero, de Senectute or de Amicitia (Kelsey) [3], Latin 
prose composition [IJ. Second semester. 

The purpose of this course, wh^ch runs through the freshman year, is to enable 
the student to read ordinary prose Latin with greater ease and intelligence. The 



456 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

I 
weekly exercises in Latin composition are for the most part based on the texts | 
read, and translation from hearing Latin read is a regular class exercise. The ! 
peculiarities of "Livy's style are now constantly noted and contrasted with the 
classic idiom of the selections from Cicero. The orations will not be read this 
year. 

OreeJc.— The aim is to acquire as many-sided a knowledge of Greek as possible. 
Facility in reading Greek is cultivated, and to this end practice at sight is given 
and private reading is encouraged. Attention is paid to grammatical principles, 
to the development of the language and of the literature, to different phases of 
Greek life and thought. Careful study is given to the style of each author and to 
the distinctive Excellence of each, and in advanced classes to text criticism. The 
courses given embrace representative authors in history, oratory, philosophy, in 
epic, lyric, and dramatic poetry. In the junior year, a course in elementary 
Greek is offered to any non-Greek students who may wish it. 

A society called the Hellenic Society has been formed for the purpose of keep- 
ing itself acquainted with the results of archaeological research in Greece. 

Vassar College contributes to the support of the American School of Classical 
Studies at Athens. The school affords facilities for archasological investigation ; 
and study in Greece, and graduates of this college are entitled to all its advan- | 
tages without expense for tuition. 

Required: 1. Lysias; Plato, Apology [3]. English into Greek [1]. Translation 
at sight and also from hearing. Lectures on legal, political, and social aspects of 
Athenian life. Freshman year, first semester. 

2. Homer, Odyssey; Herodotus [3]. English into Greek [1]. Translation at 
sight. Lectures on Homeric antiquities and on the Homeric question. Historical , 
explanation of the Homeric forms and syntax. Freshman year, second semester. ! 

3. Demosthenes, On the Crown; ^schines, Against Ctesiphon [2]. English ^i 
into Greek [!]. Lectures on Attic orators. Sophomore year, first semester. a| 

4. Plato, Protagoras [2]. Lectures on Socrates, the Socratic method, the 
Sophists. Sophomore year, second semester. 

Courses 3 and 4 will not be required after this year. j 

French.— Required: 1 and 2. Reading, Balzac, Eugenie Grandet; Hugo, Her- j 
nani and Quatrevingt-treize; Ponsard, Charlotte Corday; Delavigne, Louis XL i 
Translation of English into French. Review of syntax. One hour a week of the 
second semester is devoted to the literature of the nineteenth century. Bonnefon 
Ecrivains modernes. Freshman year, first and second semesters [41. 

G^ermoji.— Required: 1 and 2. Grammar. Composition. Translation at sight 
from English into German. Harris, German prose composition; Buchheim, prose 
composition: Eichendorf, Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts. Poems by Goethe, 
Schiller, Uhland, Chamisso, etc. Schiller, Maria Stuart; Goethe, Egmont. Fresh- 
man year, first and second semesters [4J. 

In the freshman year the grammatical principles are carefully reviewed and in 
the subsequent classes incidental instruction in grammar is given. 

English.— The instruction given by the department of English has three objects: 
(1) proficiency in English composition; (2) a general acquaintance with English 
literature; (3) a more minute knowledge of certain authors, whose works illustrate 
the development not only of English literature, but also of the English language. 

The first of these objects is considered in the required work of the freshman and 
sophomore years — courses 1 and 2, and 3, respectively, and in elective courses A 
and B. Especial stress is laid upon frequent and regular practice. 

The second of these objects is considered in the required sophomore courses 4 
and 5, which are introductory to the subject, and in elective courses C, D, E, F, 
and G. In these courses a large amount of reading is prescribed, a still larger 
amount is recommended, and from time to time written work is required. 



VASSAK COLLEGE. 457 

The third of these objects is considered in elective courses H and I, J, K, L, and M. 

The courses in elocution are included in this department for convenience, but 
form no part of the regular English work, and are not counted toward the degree 
of A. B. They consist of a required course for freshmen, one hour per week, 
second semester, and of an elective course, open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors, 
one hour per week, second semester. 

Required: 1. English composition. Genung's Outlines of Rhetoric; exercises, 
weekly themes. Freshman year, first semester [3] . 

3. English composition. Wendell's English Composition, illustrated by a study 
of masterpieces; themes and essays. Freshman year, second semester [3]. 

Mathematics. — Required: 1. Solid and spherical geometry. Freshman year, 
first semester [3] . 

The exercises in geometry include recitations from the text-book, original dem- 
onstrations of propositions and applications of principles to numerical examples. 
The text-book is Chauvenet (revised by Byerly). 

2. Algebra. Freshman year, second semester [2] . 

The text-book in algebra is Hall and Knight's Higher Algebra. 

3. Plane trigonometry (Wells). Freshman year, second semester [2], 

In plane trigonometry attention is given to trigonometric analysis and the solu- 
tion of triangles. After the student has gained facility in the use of trigonometric 
tables, application of the principles is made to problems in mensuration, survey- 
ing, and navigation. 

Hygiene. — Required: Hygiene [1] . Freshman year. A course running through 
the year. One hour weekly is devoted to this course, and the study comprises lec- 
tures, recitations, and practical investigation of the principles of house sanitation. 
Drawings and models are provided for this study. All new students are required 
to attend. 

In 1895-96 this course will extend through the first semester only. 

SENIOR YEAR. 

Philosophy. — The study of psychology is required of all candidates for a degree. 
The subject is presented as science of mind, to be distinguished on the one hand 
from the physical sciences and on the other from speculative philosophy. The 
intimate relation of mental phenomena to the physical organism is carefully con- 
sidered and the practical bearing of psychological principles on the rules of thought 
and methods of education is kept constantly in view. The aim of the instructor 
in this subject, as in all the courses of the department, is both to further the 
immediate intellectual discipline of the student and also to lay a basis for the 
formation of a sound and independent conception of self, the world, and God. 
Lectures and text-book study are supplemented by essays and free class-room dis- 
cussion. The student is encouraged in every way possible to think for herself. 

The course in ethics is also required of students for a degree. The methods of 
instruction are similar to those outlined above. A text-book forms the basis of 
the work, and is made the ground of free discussion. A course of lectures sup- 
plements the work, and reading in the history of ethical philosophy is required. 
Topics of study are the conscience, moral law, the will, and the ultimate ground 
of moral obligation. The relations of the principles thus discovered to the duties 
of moral beings to self, others, and God are discussed. 

Required: Ethics; lectures on the ethical philosophy. Senior year, second semes- 
ter [3], (After this year, first semester. ) 

Elective: Course A. — History of ancient philosophy; lectures, recitations, read- 
ing of authors in translation, essays. Junior year, second semester [3] . (Also 
open to seniors in 1894-95). 

Course B. — History of modern philosophy. Senior year, second semester [3J. 
(In 1895-96 this course will extend through both semesters.) 



458 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

Sanskrit. — Sanskrit is an elective course of two hours running through senior 
year. The study of the characters and inflections of the language is first taken 
up with Whitney's Grammar as a text-book; later, selections from Lanman's 
Reader are read. 

Students should consult with the instructor before electing the course. 

For the present year the course is given in part. 

Latin. — Course I: Roman elegy, Catullus (Merrill), Tibullus and Propertius 
(Ramsay). First semester [3] . 

Catullus's position among Latin poets, his originality, the influence of the 
Alexandrine school, and similar questions are considered. Tibullus and Proper- 
tius are used to illustrate the development of the elegy. 

This course will be offered in 1895-96. 

Course J: Juvenal, Satires (Hardy), Pliny, Letters (Pritchard and Bernard). 
First semester [3] , 

As these authors present opposite views of social life in Rome under the Early 
Empire, an important feature of the work consists in the preparation of papers 
on various topics suggested by the text. 

Course K: Lucretius I, III (Kelsey), Cicero, Tusculan Disputations I (Harpers 
text). Second semester [3] . 

The first Book of Lucretius gives a general presentation of his form of Epicu- 
reanism, and from the third Book and the Tusculan Disputations are selected the 
portions that bear on the questions of the immortality of the soul. 

Course L: Roman institutions. Second semester [2]. 

The purpose of the course is to trace the connection between modern institu- 
tions and forms of government and those of ancient Rome. After briefly consid- 
ering the attitude of modern criticism toward the early period of Roman history, 
the institutions of the regal period are taken up, the manner of their development 
into republican forms and offices, and their final absorption into those of the 
Empire. The original authorities as well as the works of Niebuhr, Lewis, Ihne, 
and Mommsen are used. 

This course is open to sophomores. 

Course M: An introduction to comparative grammar. Second semester [1]. 

This course is intended to give some general idea of the history, theories, and 
methods of modern philology, with special illustration from the Grgeco-Italic 
group of languages. The class will consult the works of Whitney, Delbruck, and 
others with references to the larger treatises of Brugmann, King and Cookson, 
and G. Meyer. 

(jj-eeifc.— Course B: (Short course continued. ) Same work as in freshman course. 
First and second semesters [3] . 

Course I: Plato, Republic. First semester [3]. 

Course J: Aristotle, Politics. Second semester [3]. 

Course K: ^schylus, Seven against Thebes and Agamemnon. Second semes- 
ter [2]. (Begins in 1894-95.) 

Course L: Pindar and lyric poetry. Second semester [2]. (Begins in 1895-96.) 

French.— Gouvsa F: Corneille, Le Cid, Racine, Andromaque, Moliere, Le Bour- 
geois gentilhomme. Lectures upon the society of the seventeenth century, the 
Hotel de Rambouillet, and the French Academy. Discussions of topics that have 
been prepared by the students. Conversation. First semester [2]. 

Course G: Critical, analytical, and comparative study of the drama of the sev- 
enteenth century. Lectures upon the rise of the French drama. Extensive 
readings. Conversation. Second semester [2] . 

Course H: The philosophical, the religious, and the miscellaneous literature of 
the seventeenth century— Pascal, Descartes, Bossuet, La Fontaine, and Mme. de 
Sevigne. Lectures and conversation. First semester [2] . 



VASSAR COLLEGE. 459 

Course I: The literature of the Renaissance period. Reading of extracts from 
the works of Amj'ot. Montaigne, Agrippa d'Aubigne, and other writers of the 
times. Lectures on French literature from its beginning to our times. Second 
semester [2]. 

Course J: Contemporary literature. The literary theories of the Romanticists, 
the Naturalists, the Parnassians, the Symbolists, and the Decadents. Foreign 
influences— Tolstoism and Ibsenism, The moral and religious reaction in litera- 
ture. The new critics, Brunetiere, Tissot, Faguet. Recent writers, Taine, Renan, 
Scherer, Cherbuliez, Loti, Coppee, Daudet, and de Vogue. Senior year, first and 
second semesters [2] . 

German. — Course G: History of modern literature. Critical study of poetical 
productions. Collateral readings and lectures will supplement the work in the 
classroom. Essays. Lessing's prose works. First semester [2] . 

Course H: Work of course G continued. Goethe's Faust, Parts I and II. Sec- 
ond semester [2]. 

Course I: Gore, Science Reader, or Hodges's Course in Scientific German. Sec- 
ond semester [IJ . 

English. — Course H: Anglo-Saxon. Bright's Anglo-Saxon Reader; Sievers's 
Grammar. First semester [3] . 

Course I: Anglo-Saxon. Beowulf. Versification. Textual criticism. Theories 
of origin. Second semester [3]; continuation of H. Omitted in 1894-95. 

Course J: Chaucer. The Canterbury Tales (Clarendon Press series) and Minbt 
Poems. First semester [3J. (Second semester, 1894-95.) 

Courses K and L: Shakespeare. A minute study of six plays, three each 
semester. May be elected for a single semester or for the whole college year. 
First and second semesters [3] . 

Coiirse M: Bacon and Milton. Bacon "s Essays and Advancement of Learning; 
Milton's Areopagitica, English i^oems, and first two or three books of Paradise 
Lost. First semester [3] , alternate years, beginning with 1895-96. 

Mathematics. — Course F: Quaternions. First semester [3]. 

Course G: Quaternions continued. Second semester [2]. 

This course includes the general properties of scalars and vectors, quaternion 
interpretation and applications of quaternions to the geometry of the plane, right- 
line, and sphere. 

Course F presupposes courses A and C. 

Course I: Curve tracing. First semester [2]. 

Lecture course with daily practice in curve tracing. 

Prerequisite: Courses A, C, H. 

Course J: Analytic geometry of three dimensions (C. Smith). The geometry of 
planes and quadric surfaces. Second semester [3J . 

Prerequisite: Courses A, C, H, I. 

Course K: Modern methods in analytic geometry. First semester [3]. 

Course L: Modern methods in analytic geometry. Continuation of Course K. 
Second semester [3]. 

Prerequisite: Courses A, C, H, I, J. 

Course M: Projective geometry. First semester [3] . 

Course N: Projective geometry. Continuation of Course M. Second semes- 
ter [3]. 

A lecture course based on Reye's Geometrie der Lage. 

Prerequisite: Course A. 

Course O: Analytic mechanics. First semester [3]. 

The elements of statics and dynamics. Applications to practical problems. 
The fundamental principles of mechanics and the elements of the theory of the 
potential. 



460 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

Prerequisites: Courses A, C, D. 

Astronomy. — Course D: Spherical and practical astronomy. First semester [3]. 

Course E: Theoretical astronomy. Second semester [2] . 

These courses enter into a more detailed study of certain departments of practi- 
cal and theoretical astronomy, and require a working knowledge of the calculus. 
They must, therefore, presuppose mathematical courses A and B. During the 
first semester the students use the meridian circle, making and reducing their own 
observations. They iDredict occultations and observe them. In the second semes- 
ter practice is transferred to the equatorial telescope. The order and character of 
practical work through the year, however, must frequently vary according to 
the positions of celestial objects of study. Theoretical astronomy is generally 
treated under the form of comet's orbit. 

Course F: The solar spectrum. Second semester [2]. 

This course in the study of the sun will introduce the student to the principles 
underlying our knowledge of the constitution of the celestial bodies as revealed 
by the spectroscope. It does not presuppose the course in general astronomy, but 
an ordinary knowledge of the solar system is desirable. 

P/iysics.— Course D: Practical physics; experimental work in physical meas- 
urements and electricity with lectures and collateral reading. First semester [3]. 

Course E: Practical physics; experimental work in light with lectures and col- 
lateral reading. Second semester [3] . 

Chemistry. — Course D: Organic chemistry. First semester [3]. Two lectures 
and three hours of laboratory work per week. Open to those who have completed 
Course B. 

Coiirse E: Sanitary chemistry. Second semester [3].= One lecture and six 
hours' laboratory work per week. Chemistry of air and water in their relation to 
health, water supply and purification, ventilation, food adulteration, and legal 
standards of purity. Open to those who have completed courses C and D. 

Course F: History of chemical theory. Second semester [2]. Open to those 
who have completed Course D. 

Geology. — Course D: An advanced course, either in petrography or in paleonto- 
logical and stratigraphical geology, with practice in field work. First semester [2] . 

Course E: Advanced geology. Either a continuation of Course C, or, for those 
who have not pursued Course C, a similar course. Second semester [2]. 

Biology.— Course C: General Zoology. First semester [3]. Three lectures and 
four hours laboratory work weekly. Open to those who have had Course B. 

This gives the student a systematic knowledge of the animal kingdom, attention 
being paid chiefly to the classification, development, and homologies of inverte- 
brates. 

Course D: Embryology. Second semester [8] . Three lectures, four hours' labo- 
ratory work weekly. Open to those who have had Course B. 

Thorough work on the embryology of the chick is followed by a brief compara- 
tive study of the development of the vertebrates. The usual method of making 
and studying sections of the chick is supplemented by models in clay made by the 
students to illustrate the more important stages in development. 

Course E: Higher biology. Second semester [1] : Open to those who have taken 
Courses C and D. 

This course begins with a history of the development of the biological sciences 
with special reference to the growth of the evolution theory. Some of the leading 
questions of biology, such as natural selection, evolution, heredity, are discussed 
in the lectures. 

Course F: Current biological literature. First and second semesters [1]. Open 
to seniors who have had Course B and are taking Courses C and D. 
The class meets weekly throughout the year. The aim of the course is to give 



VASSAE COLLEGE. 461 

the student familiarity witli current biological literature, practice in bibliography , 
and in the presentation and discussion of papers. 

Course Gr: Comparative anatomy or histology. Second semester [2]. Three 
to four hours' laboratory work a week. Open to those who have had course B. 

This course is intended to give a comparative knowledge of the structure of the 
various organs of vertebrates. Those who wish to study medicine will have an 
opportunity to do special work in comparative osteology. This course may alter- 
nate with a course in histology. 

History. — Course D: American constitutional history. First semester [4]. 

This coiTrse is open to students who have had at least three courses in history. 

The course is intended to offer opportunity for critical study of the origin and 
development of the American Constitution. The specific lines of work along 
which the general subject is studied vary from year to year. The class is divided 
into small sections, thus affording opportunity for constant discussion of facts and 
principles and the individual study of special topics. 

Course E: American and English constitutional history. Second semester [3J. 

This course is open to students who have completed Course D. 

The course completes the work of Course D, and includes a comparative study 
of the existing political institutions of America and England. 

Course F: Nineteenth century history. First semester [2]. 

This course is open to students who have completed Course B and Course C. 

The object of the course is to study the different political conditions in Western 
Europe as they have been developed from the French Revolution. The special 
subjects considered include the growth of republican ideas in France, the unifica- 
tion of Italy, the establishment of the German Empire, and the revolutionary 
movements of 1830 and 1848. Special topics for individual study are taken up by 
each member of the class and pursued throughout the semester. 

Course G: Comparative politics. Second semester [2]. 

This course is open to those who have completed Course F. 

The work comprises a study of different theories in regard to the origin and 
functions of the State, with an examination of the application of these theories 
in the different forms of modern federal government. The specific questions con" 
sidered vary from year to year. 

During the year 1895-96 and subsequently the reqtiired work in history will be 
a course of three hours a week throughout the sophomore year in general Euro- 
pean history. 

Economics. — Course D: Railroad transportation, trusts, and the relation of the 
State to monopolies. First semester [2] . Must be preceded by A. 

Laissez-faire, the argument for and against, and substitutes proposed for this 
precept; definition and classification of monopolies; transportation prior to the 
railway, development of the railway system, results of improved transportation 
and communication, railway organization and accounts, competition, combina- 
tion, discrimination, rates, railroad policy of different countries and of this coun- 
try before 1887, constitutional and legal limitation of the legislative power in 
controlling transportation agencies, proposed solutions of the railway problem, 
including State ownership, the interstate commerce law and its results; the devel- 
opment, organization, advantages, and dangers of trusts, antitrust legislation; 
municipal ownership of waterworks, gas works, electric-lighting plants and street 
railways; conclusion as to the jjroper treatment of monopolies. 

Course E: (a) The labor problem; its origin and attempts toward its solution; 
(b) Socialism. Second semester [8j. Open to those having had A. 

The chief topics considered will be the historical basis of the labor problem in 
the economic development of the last hundred years; the progress and present 
condition of the working classes; their complaints and claims; history and aims 
of workingmen's combinations; conciliation and arbitration; cooperation; profit 



462 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

sharing; different views as to the proper relation of the State to industry; factory 
and other legislation; history of socialism, its present strength, critical study of 
the proposals of the different schools of socialists; principles of social reform. 

Course F : Social science. First semester [2J . Open only to seniors who have 
taken A. 

Sociological bearings of natural selection, heredity, environment, free will; phys- 
ical, physiological, psychological, moral, and social causes of abnormality; sta- 
tistics of the causes of pauperism, history of the English poor laws; principles that 
should direct charity; private relief, charity organization, public relief, alms- 
houses, old age pensions and workingmen's insurance; relief for the unemployed, 
including labor colonies and the tramp problem; dependent children; relief of the 
sick; insanitj'; statistics of the causes of crime; criminal anthropology; preven- 
tion of crime; principles that should govern the treatment of offenders; delin- 
quent children; reformatories; prison methods, cumulative sentence; the family 
and divorce. Visits have been made to various charitable and correctional insti- 
tutions, of which there is a considerable variety within easy access of the college. 
The formal and informal lectures by those in charge of the institutions visited 
have been very instructive. 

Course G: Economic seminary. Second semester [2]. This course will be 
offered only when desired by several proiserly prepared students. A prerequisite 
for admission is the completion with success of at least three courses in economics. 
If not previously taken. Course E must be elected contemporaneously with the 
seminary. 

Art. — Course C [2] : First semester. 

Painting: Classic and Byzantine painting, Renaissance painting, Giotto, Fra 
Angelico, Masaccio, Leonardo, Michael Angelo, Raphael, Titian, Veronese, Durer, 
Rubens, Rembrandt, Velasquez, Murillo, Poussin, David, Millet, Hogarth, Rey- 
nolds, Benjamin West. 

Music. — Course C: Counterpoint. Exercises in adding one, two, three, four, or 
more voices in simple counterpoint to given or original cantus fermi. Also the 
principles employed in writing double counterpoint, canon, and fugue. First 
semester [2]. 

Course D: History. It is the aim in this course to study, under the following 
headings, the outlines of musical progress from the time of the most ancient 
Oriental civilization to the present. Oriental and ancient music; the first ten cen- 
turies of Christian music; from Guido to the fourteenth century; epoch of the 
Netherlanders; the rise of dramatic music; the beginning of oratorio; instrumental 
music from the sixteenth to the nineteen century; general development of Italian, 
French, and German opera; of the oratorio, cantata, passion music, and sacred 
music. First semester [2] . 

Course E: History of dramatic music. The Greek drama; its rise and decline. 
Invention of the opera or rediscovery of dramatic music by the Florentine Cam- 
erati, and its progressive development into the music drama of Richard Wagner. 
History and synopsis of operas representative of the various schools — Neapolitan, 
French, Italian- German, national German, and cosmopolitan. To be illustrated 
at the piano forte. Second semester [2] . 

Course F: History of sacred music. Second semester [2]. Liturgical music 
and musical insti'uments of ancient peoples; music of the early Christians; of the 
Roman, Greek, and Protestant church. History and analysis of the forms em- 
ployed in modern worship music, namely: The recitative, aria, chant, canticle, 
anthem, motette, chorus, familiar hymn tunes and Gospel hymns, cantata, ora- 
torio, passion music, and mass. History and analysis of one or more of the stand- 
ard oratorios (the Creation, the Messiah, Elijah, St. Paul, etc.), and of organ 
music and miscellaneous solo forms suitable for purposes of worship. 



VASSAR COLLEGE. 463 

Courses E and F are exchangeable. Students electing both may count but one 
toward the degree. 

The College Chorus meets once a week and offers class training in the principles 
and practice of vocal music, namely: Notation, time, accent, dynamics, tone pro- 
duction, articulation, and expression. 

GRADUATE COURSES. 

Courses of advanced study will be arranged by the various departments of the 
college for graduates of colleges who may prove to the faculty their ability to 
profit by them. The student will have the advantage of study with the instructor 
and of a general direction in her investigations. 

Graduate courses of study, under the direction of the heads of the different 
departments of instruction, will be arranged for such resident graduates as wish 
to take examinations for the second degree in arts (A. M.). 

DEGREES. 

students who have completed the regular course will receive the first or bacca- 
laureate degree in arts (A. B.). 

No person will be admitted to the college as a candidate for the degree of bach- 
elor of arts after the beginning of the first semester of the senior year. 

The second degree in arts (A. M. ) may be conferred upon bachelors of arts of 
this or any other approved college who have pursued a course of advanced non- 
professional study. The required period of residence is one year, but graduates 
of this college studying in absentia must employ at least two years to complete 
the same amount of work. Nonresidents must submit their proposed courses 
of study to the faculty not later than November 1 of the year preceding that 
in which the degree is to be taken. The candidate must pass examinations on the 
course of study arranged and present an acceptable thesis. The title of the thesis 
must be presented to the faculty as early as possible and not later than January 
1 of the year in which the degree is conferred. A fair copy of the thesis should 
be sent to the president's office not later than May 1 of the same year. 

The degree of doctor of philosophy (Ph. D. ) will not be conferred by the college 
at present. In the estimation of the trustees and faculty the requirements for 
this degree can not be met properly where there is not special provision made for 
extended graduate work, such as can not be offered by institutions without a 
university equipment. 

COLLEGE BUILDINGS AND PROPERTY. 

Since tlie college opened with its two buildings — the main hall and 
the observatory — various others have grown up about it. The 
museum, erected in 1866; the laboratory, erected in 1880, the gift of 
John Guy Vassar and Matthew Vassar, jr. ; the conservatory, dating 
from 1886; thealumnsB gymnasium of 1889, and Strong Hall, a dormi- 
tory built in 1893, testify to the growth and i3rosperity of the college. 
All, especially the observatory and the laboratory as well as the gym- 
nasium, are furnished with excellent apparatus for their respective 
purposes. A valuable art collection is found in the museum, part of 
which is the gift of Matthew Vassar, who purchased from the Rev. 
Elias Magoon, D. D., of Albany, more than 400 pictures in oil and 
water colors. 



464 HISTORY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

No separate library building is in existence, the present library of 
about 22,000 volumes occupying a large room in the main building. 
The total college property amounts to $1,921,518. 

PROFESSOR MITCHELL. 

No history of Vassar would be complete without mention of her 
famous professor. Miss Mitchell. 

Maria Mitchell was born at Nantucket on August 1, 1818. Her 
parents were Quakers. As a child she assisted her father in astro- 
nomical work. She studied with him and in one of the Nantucket 
schools until her eighteenth year, when she became librarian in the 
Athen^um Library in her native town. Here she found amj^le oppor- 
tunity for pursuing her studies, astronomy being the chief. She car- 
ried on practical work with the theoretical and discovered several 
new comets. In October, 1847, she discovered one that had not been 
seen before. On this her fame rests. 

After a sojourn in Europe, where she became acquainted with Sir 
John Herschel, Sir George Airy, Leverrier, Humboldt, and some of 
the leading astronomers of Italy, she resumed her work as librarian 
in Nantucket. In 1865 she was appointed to the professorship of 
astronomy in Vassar, a position which she occupied until 1888. 

The strength and simplicity of her character and the inspiration of 
her class, work left an impress not to be forgotten on all students 
who came in contact with her. She died in June, 1889. 

VASSAR'S PRESIDENTS. 

The first acting president of the college was the Rev. John H. Ray- 
mond, LL. D., whose death in 1878 left the chair vacant. It was 
filled by the Rev. Samuel L. Caldwell, who held it until 1887 and 
then resigned. An interregnum of a year followed, during which 
time the Rev. James Ryland Kendrick assumed the position of presi- 
dent pro tempore. In 1886 L»r. James W. Taylor was elected to the 
office, which he still holds. 

DR. RAYMOND. 

To no one is Vassar more deeply indebted for her success and for 
her persistent effort to uphold a high standard of scholarship than to 
her first president. Taking up the work, as he did, at its very begin- 
ning, he found himself confronted by the old problem, how to bring 
order out of chaos? He was to decide on the organization of the col- 
lege, collect a faculty, and, hardest of all, convince the girls gathered 
from seminaries far and near of the value of sound systematic train- 
ing. No further recognition is needed of the steadfastness, breadth 
of mind, and sound scholarship of Vassar's first president than his 
success in realizing his ideal for the college. ' ' My idea is not at all the 
one at first proposed," he wrote, "to make the school an omnium 
gatherum of ages, studying on all plans, but to make an earnest effort 
at organizing a liberal education for women, taking students at a 



VASSAE COLLEGE. 465 

point where thorough education leaves off in existing ladies' semina- 
ries and carrying them through a well-digested and well-balanced 
course of higher culture adapted to the sex." 

President Raymond was born in New York in 1814. He was edu- 
cated at Columbia and Union colleges; then pursued a course in 
theology at Hamilton, IST. Y., after which he entered upon his work 
as a teacher. He was for fourteen years a member of the faculty at 
Madison University, for five years professor in the university at 
Rochester, president of the Brooklyn Polytechnic for nine years, and 
so was well prepared to guide a new institution through the dangers 
of its first j^ears of existence. 

Clear headed, judicious, sympathetic, enthusiastic, yet most care- 
ful in elaborating details, he seemed in every respect most admirably 
fitted to undertake the training and education of a body of young 
women. At the close of his first ten years of quiet work he was able 
to report that at least three results had been attained : The college had 
survived the perils of its inf ancj^ and had disappointed the predictions 
of skeptics; it had been true to the object of its founder that it should 
minister to woman's education and to that alone, and it had proved 
its ability to support itself. This success was due largely to the presi- 
dent's earnest effort and to his earnest belief in woman and in her 
abilities. His death occurred in the summer of 1878. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Sketch in supplement to Encyclopaedia Britannica. (J. M. T.) 
Vassar College, by Benson J. Lossing. 
Life and Letters of John H. Raymond. 

Edited by his daughter. 
Vassar College: Its Foundation, Aims, Resources, and Course of Study. By Presi- 
dent Raymond. 1873. 
Historical Sketch of Vassar College. 

Published for the National Centennial in 1876. 
Annual reports of president, treasurer, and executive committee. 
Eulogy on Matthew Vassar, by Miss M. W. Whitney. 

Communications to the board of trustees of Vassar College, by its founder. 
Laws and regulations. 
Annual catalogues. 

Biographical Sketch of Matthew Vassar, by John H. Raymond, LL. D. 
Addresses at the celebration of the completion of the twenty-fifth academic year, 

June, 1890. 
Sears, E. I. Vassar and its degrees. Nat. Quar. Rev., 19: 124, 38. 
Smith, L. R. Social life at Vassar. Lippincott, 39: 841. 
Freeman, M. L. Vassar College. Educ, 8: 73. 
Four years in Vassar. Victoria, 24: 54. 
Vassar College: 

Bracket, A. C. Harper, 52: 346. 

Godkin, E. L. Nation, 10: 315. 

Old and new, 2: 115. 

Orton, J. Old and new. 4: 257. 

McFarland, H. H. Scribner. 2: 337. 

Sherwood, Margaret. Scribner, June, 1898. 
3176 30 



466 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IIST KEW YORK. 

DREW SEMINARY AND FEMALE COLLEGE, 1866. 
[Furnished by the institution.] 

Drew Seminary and Female College, located at Carmel, N. Y., was 
chartered by the legislature of New York, April 23, 1866, to promote 
the education of both sexes in literature, science, and the arts, and 
to furnish young women with a collegiate course of study. By the 
charter the trustees are to be appointed by the annual conference 
within whose jurisdiction the seminary is located. 

For twenty-six years the high rank of the institution was due to 
the personal influence and efficiency of Prof. George Crosby Smith. 
Several years since the management of the school was committed to the 
Rev. James Martin Yager, D. D. Since then $12,000 have been ex- 
pended in improvements. The building has been thoroughly renovated 
and painted within and put in excellent order. Students' rooms have 
been newly and well furnished. 

Contracts have just been given for a new building, to be devoted to 
a gymnasium, class rooms, and music rooms, to cost $10,000. This 
new hall will be completed by February 1, 1896. 

The standard of admission has been raised, and the preparatory, 
scientific, modern classical, and classical courses of study have been 
broadened. 

Every room is at present (October 1, 1895) occupied, and the gradu- 
ating class of 1896 will be the largest in the history of the institution. 

It has never been a coeducational institution, and has for years been 
known as "Drew Ladies' Seminary." 

In 1895 the collegiate charter was surrendered and a new academic 
charter* granted. 



RUTGERS FEMALE COLLEGE. 

Until within a few years this has been the only college for women 
in the city of New York. Before its collegiate charter, which was 
granted by the legislature in 1867, it had an academic existence reach- 
ing back to the year 1838. It was known as the " Rutgers Female 
Institute." It has been claimed for this academy that it served as a 
model for the Packer Institute in Brooklyn and for the Buffalo Female 
Academy. That it met the real educational wants of the time is shown 
by the great numbers of students enrolled on its books from the very 
beginning. 

THE COLLEGE. 

Meanwhile the idea of colleges for young ladies providing a classical 
training and bestowing the ordinary college degrees upon their grad- 
uates had become somewhat familiar through the institutions of this 
type already in successful operation at Elmira and Leroy, in this 
State, and others in the West. The noble benefactions and extended 



EUTGEKS FEMALE COLLEGE. 467 

plans of the late Mr. Vassar at Poughkeepsie had now given a great 
stimulus to all such views, and the friends of Rutgers began to 
inquire whether the time had not come for the establishment of such 
a college in the metropolis, and whether the institution which had led 
the way in higher female education for the city during so many years 
were not alike fit and ready to take a ne^v step and assume a new 
position. It possessed already a charter, an organization, and an hon- 
orable record of usefulness. It had long been and still was the only 
incorporated institution for young women in the metropolis. The 
multiplication of private schools and seminaries with the growth of 
the city seemed also to suggest a further advance if the institution 
would maintain that high and distinctive position which it had held 
at first. On all these grounds the step seemed wise, fitting, and timely. 
An application was therefore made to the legislature for a new charter 
giving the former institute the powers and privileges of a full college. 
It is due alike to the memory and the services of a lately deceased 
member of the board of trustees, Jeremiah Burns, esq., to state that 
he was very largelj^ instrumental in the successful accomplishment 
of this important change, he having been among the first to propose 
it and having given a very great amount of time and personal atten- 
tion to the several steps of its progress. 

The college, duly chartered by the legislature, was authorized "to 
confer upon students at graduation the usual college degrees and also 
to bestow such honorary degrees, etc., as are granted by any univer- 
sity, college, or seminary in the United States, with the exception of 
such diplomas as entitle their recipients to practice medicine, law, or 
other specific professions." No degrees, however, were conferred by 
the college until 1870. 

After several changes of location, the college is now situated in 
West Fifty-sixth street. 

INSTRUCTORS AND STUDENTS. 

In the year 1893 there were 34 students enrolled. The college has 
a corps of 15 instructors. 

The president was then George W. Samson, D. D., LL. D. 

In June 1895 the charter of Rutgers Female College was surrendered 
to the regents and the corporation dissolved. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Charter of Rutgers Female Institute. Laws 1838, chap. 192. 

Charter of Rutgers Female College. Laws 1867, chap. 328. 

Regents Report, 1868, p. 194. Account of proceedings on organization as a college. 

Historical sketch, by Prof. Daniel S. Martin, in Regent's Report of 1877, p. 644. 

WELLS COLLEGE, 1868. 

Wells College was founded at Aurora, N. Y., by Henry Wells, and 
opened for the reception of students in September, 1868. The insti- 



468 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATIOlSr IIST NEW YORK. 

tution was chartered in the same year, with full collegiate powers 
and privileges, by the legislature of the State of New York, under 
the name Wells Seminary. In 1870 the name was changed, on 
petition to the regents of the University of the State of New York, 
to Wells College, the better to express the real purpose of the founder 
in establishing the school. A preparatory department has been main- 
tained from the first, but it will probably be dropped entirely at an 
early date. Announcement to this effect would have been made 
already had it not been for the interruption of our plans occasioned 
by the loss of the main building by fire, in August, 1888.^ 

BUILDINGS. 

The main college building, which replaces the original building, 
was completed and occupied at the beginning of the collegiate year 
1890-1891. It has a west front, overlooking the lake (Cayuga) of about 
140 feet, with north and south wings, each extending back 160 feet, 
with a square tower, terminating in a graceful spire 160 feet in height, 
rising from the center of the structure. Besides rooms for resident 
teachers and students, it contains ample class rooms; library, with 
capacity for from 15,000 to 20,000 volumes; chapel, music hall, ofiices, 
and other public rooms, all on the first floor; gymnasium fitted with 
the Sargent apparatus, dining-room on second fioor; a fine studio and 
society halls on the upper floor. ^ 

PRESIDENTS. 

The first president of Wells College was the Rev. William W. 
Howard, who held office only one year. From 1869 to 1873 the Rev. S. 
Irenseus Prime, D. T>., was the acting president, and he was succeeded 
by the Rev. Thomas C. Strong, D. T>., who resigned in 1875. The 
Rev. Edward S. Frisbee, D. D., was then elected as president, and he 
occupied the office until June, 1894. 

Under his administration this institution has been steadily improving in all the 
appointments for study and instruction, and in a character for thorough scholar- 
ship and genuine literary and Christian culture. =* 

In the letter from President Frisbee above referred to attention is 
drawn to a peculiar feature in the policy of this institution. He 
writes: 

A special point may be taken into the account, which was intended by the founder, 
and has been kept steadily in mind from the beginning, namely, the limitation of 
numbers. Originally the limit was placed at 75. For the last two years it has 
been considerably less, solely because since the fire we have been unable to pro- 
vide room for a larger number. On the completion of the new building the limit 
will be raised to 100, experience showing that such number is not too large for 
the best results. 

■ From a letter of President Frisbee, of date March 6, 1890. 

^ Annual catalogue, 1891. 

3 Quoted from Public Service of the State of New York, III, p. 410. 



WELLS COLLEGE. 469 

In 1894 William Everett Waters, Pli. D., succeeded to the presi- 
dency. 

BENEFACTORS. 

Besides the large gifts of the founder, Wells College has received 
an endowment of $200,000 from the late Edwin B. Morgan, of Aurora, 
in addition to other donations from the same generous source. 

COURSES OF STUDY. 

Besides special courses, which are discouraged rather than recom- 
mended, there are three courses of study open to students : The regular 
course, the scientific course, the literary course. All have the same 
requirements for admission and all are of four years' duration, the 
first leading to the degree of A, B., the second to that of Bachelor of 
Science, the third to that of Bachelor of Literature. Special attention 
is given in Wells College to the study of the English language and 
literature. 

ADDITIONAL FACTS. 

Further information, especially of a bibliographical character, is 
contained in the following extract from a letter of President Frisbee, 
dated June 1, 1891: 

The only acts of the legislature of this State which pertain to Wells College, 
rather the only act, is that of 1867 or 1868, incorporating " Wells Seminary" under 
a full college charter. A year or two later petition was made to the regents of 
the university of this State for a change of name to " Wells College," which was 
granted, but with no change of the charter. 

Aside from the annual reports of the regents, the volumes of their reports from 
1868 to 1870 contain the history of the foundation of Wells College. 

The history of Wells College has not yet been written, and the material for it 
in published form is still more scanty, consisting as it does of pamphlets and 
newspaper reports of public occasions, very little of which in our possession sur- 
vived the fire. The State library at Albany contains more of all such material 
than can be found at present elsewhere. 

The late Dr. S. I. Prime, of the New York Observer, was one of our trustees at 
the time of his death, and was acting president of the faculty from 1869 to 1872 or 
1873. The late Judge James Sheldon, of Buffalo, N. Y., was largely interested in 
the college, but I know of no biographical sketch of him, unless such a sketch may 
be found in the archives of the Buffalo Historical Society. The chief figures in 
connection with the foundation are Henry Wells, founder of the college, whose 
name is st.ll retained in the firm title. Wells, Fargo & Co. , and the Hon. Edwin 
B. Morgan, of Aurora, neither of whom is living. 



470 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

CLAVERACK COLLEGE. 

, [From materials furnished by President Flack.] 

HISTORICAL SKETCH. 

Wasliiugton Seminary, the germ of the present institution, was 
founded by Maj. Henry. Van Rensselaer, Col. Peter Van Ness, Mr. 
William Henry Ludlow, Rev. John G. Gebhard, and others, in 1779, 
and conducted as a successful English and classical school for nearly 
fifty years, having among its pupils many who have taken a prominent 
place in the history of the State and nation. 

A stock company was formed in 1829 to erect a larger building, 
which was opened under the name of Claverack Academy in 1830, and 
chartered by the regents of the University of the State of New York 
during the following year. The academy flourished with its increased 
facilities for a quarter of a century, when the trustees, learning of 
other large seminaries springing up throughout the State, increased 
their capital to build and furnish the Claverack Academy and Hudson 
River Institute, which ojDcned its doors October 10, 1854. To meet 
the wants of a large number of pupils, another building, the College 
Hall, was added ten years later, and on the 4th of June, 1869, power 
was given the trustees, by the regents of the university, to confer upon 
young women such degrees as are granted by other colleges for women 
in the State. 

The centennial anniversary of the founding of Washington Sem- 
inary, as also the semicentennial, quadricentennial, and decennial 
anniversaries of the development of academy, institute, and college, 
were appropriately celebrated on the 14th of June, 1879. 

BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS. 

The site of the buildings is open, airy, and elevated, without bleak- 
ness. The grounds, containing 20 acres, consist of a shaded lawn in 
front and large level campus in the rear. There are two buildings 
used for educational purposes. 

The main building, erected in 1854, contains the offices, parlors, 
library, reading rooms, chapel, dining hall, recitation rooms, music 
hall, practice rooms, society halls, studio, rooms for students and 
teachers, besides the apartments used for domestic and culinary 
purposes. 

College Hall, erected in 1864, contains a large hall 50 by 80 feet, 
used for military drill and calisthenics, the armory, laboratory, day 
school room, gymnasium, and separate apartments for day pupils. 

DESIGN. 

The design of the institution is to furnish superior facilities for 
academic and collegiate study to young women, to prepare young men 



BARNAKD COLLEGE. 47 1 

for college, professional school, or business, and at the same time fur- 
nish them a comfortable, cultured Christian home. 
There is also a conservatory of music and art. 

Courses of study. 

Years. 

Collegiate (for young women) 4 

Academic. . . 3 

Latin, scientific ..._...__ 3 

College, preparatory . . . . 3 

Commercial .... . . ... 1 

Music ... _ 4 

Drawing, painting, and sculpture 3 

In addition to the above, special courses are arranged to meet the 
wants of those who desire to prepare for any particular theological, 
technological, medical, law, or other professional school. 

The president of the college is the Rev. A. H. Flack. In 1894 or 
1895 the collegiate charter was revoked, and the institution now ranks 
only as an academy, under the name of the Hudson River Institute. 



BARNARD COLLEGE. 

[By the dean of the college, Miss E. J. Smith, 1894.] 
HISTORY. 

In 1883 a petition numerously signed by residents of New York and 
the vicinity was laid before the trustees of Columbia College, asking 
that the privileges of the college be extended to women in the form 
of coeducation. This petition was tabled by the trustees, but in the 
same year they took action to make the degrees of Columbia attain- 
able by women who should be able to pass the necessary examina- 
tions. The resulting system, called the Columbia courses for women, 
proved unsatisfactory. The students found that they had the name 
without the thing, and the college authorities grew unwilling to con- 
fer, on the strength of examinations only, degrees which commonly 
rested on daily training as well. To ease the situation it was obvi- 
ously necessary to provide instruction for the women which should be 
identical with or equivalent to that provided by Columbia for men, 
and in 1889 Barnard College was organized with this purpose in view. 
It will be noticed, therefore, that Barnard's relation to Columbia has 
developed in the opposite order to that customary in such cases. 
Girton and the other English colleges for women began by securing 
the benefit of instruction by members of the universities with which 
they are affiliated. The Harvard Annex in this country pursued the 
same policy. All these colleges are apparently as far as ever from 
obtaining the degrees of the universities, and the Harvard Annex, by 
becoming Radcliffe College, has virtually renounced the prospect. 



472 HISTORY OF HIOHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

In 1889 Barnard received a provisional charter, granted to Mrs. 
Francis B. Arnold, Rev., Arthur Brooks, Miss Helen Dawes Brown, 
Silas B. Brownell, Mrs. William C. Brownell, Mrs. Joseph H. Choate, 
Frederic R. Coudert, Noah Davis, George Hoadly, Hamilton W. 
Mabie, Mrs. Alfred Meyer, George A. Plimpton, Mrs. John D. Rocke- 
feller, Jacob H. Schife, Francis Lynde Stetson, Mrs. James S. T. Stran- 
ahan, Mrs. James Talcott, Rev. Henry Van Dyke, Miss Ella Weed, 
Everett P. Wheeler, Alice Williams, Frances Fisher Wood. 

To meet the expenses of the college a number of persons pledged 
themselves to the payment of small annual sums for four years. The 
house was rented at 343 Madison avenue, which the college has occu- 
pied ever since. Seven instructors were selected from the Columbia 
faculty; 14 students entered in the school of arts and 12 as special 
students in science. 

In the second year the botanical laboratory was equipped by the 
generosity of the Torrey Botanical Club. Nine additional instructors 
were appointed. The entry of each new class during the four 3^ears 
of experiment greatly increased the expense of the college, as it 
required an extension of the staff of instructors which the fees were 
far from meeting. Yet at the end of the four years the college found 
itself free from debt, with a graduating class of 8, 7 juniors, 10 sopho- 
mores, 27 freshmen, 33 special students, and 18 instructors. It had 
by this time received $100,000 for a building fund and $25,000 in $5,000 
founderships, but was otherwise without income, save from its 
students' fees. 

In January, 1894, the college sustained a great loss in the death of 
Miss Ella Weed, one of the original trustees, and, as chairman of the 
academic committee, the administrative head of the college. Miss 
Weed's very remarkable clearness of view and strength of purpose 
made her the ideal leader of an experimental enterprise, and she had 
the fortune to possess, together with sound ideas, the tact requisite to 
make them prevail. In view of the changes necessitated by her death, 
the trustees resolved to furnish the college with a formal head, and 
appointed, as the first dean. Miss Emily James Smith, a graduate of 
Bryn Mawr, who entered upon her duties in September, 1894. In 
June, 1894, the college received its permanent charter. During that 
year its building fund increased to $200,000, the number of $5,000 
founderships rose to 7, and a sum not to exceed $12,500 annually was 
guaranteed for the payment of salaries for three years. In October, 
1894, 127 students were registered, as follows: 

Undergraduates - - - 72 

Graduates - 19 

Special students 36 

127 



BARNARD COLLEGE. 473 



ACADEMIC STATEMENT. 



The opening of the Harvard Annex in 1881 and of Barnard College 
in 1889 bear witness to the gradual growth in this country of the uni- 
versity idea. The independent colleges for women which have been 
so generously established in our Eastern States prove not only that the 
theory of the collegiate education of women is accepted in this coun- 
try, and that the money is forthcoming to put it in practice, but that 
a very few years ago the existing colleges for men were not so good 
that there was any audacity in trying to duplicate them. In Europe 
it has never been seriously supposed that the University of Oxford or 
of Berlin could be reproduced for women. Thirty years ago it seemed 
credible that Harvard might be so reproduced. But within those 
thirty years the idea of concentrating ability and money in a great 
university here and there instead of scattering it broadcast, the idea 
of accumulating great university libraries instead of increasing the 
number of small collections which wastefully duplicate each othei 
without rising above mediocrity, has prevailed and produced a great 
advance in American scholarship. In harmony with this idea, Bar- 
nard, although in possession of a charter and an administrative 
autonomy of its own, has the advantage of academic identity with 
Columbia. Instructors at Barnard are chosen from the staff of 
Columbia, or approved by the president thereof. Columbia is respon- 
sible for the Barnard examinations, the papers used at both colleges 
being identical, save in a few exceptional cases. Barnard students 
have equal privileges with Columbia students in the university library. 
In other words, the women of New York have an opportunity to 
receive precisely the same education as their brothers, to hear the 
same professors, to use the same books, to share the mental breadth 
that comes of life in a university as distinguished from a college, and 
are yet spared as undergraduates the problems that arise from coedu- 
cation in the narrow sense. 

The caution with which both parties to the experiment have hitherto 
advanced, and the liberty left to the various faculties at Columbia of 
making their own terms of agreement with Barnard, results in a cer- 
tain heterogeneity of relations. In the undergraduate course the 
instruction at Barnard College is identical with that at Columbia, 
though for reasons of practical convenience it is given to the women 
separately at Barnard College during the first three years. In the 
senior year a peculiarity of the Columbia system, by which graduate 
courses are open to election by seniors, takes many of the Barnard 
studen'is to lectures at Columbia with the men. Of the twenty 
instructors in undergraduate work at Barnard, sixteen are on the 
Columbia staff. 

The faculties of philosophy and of political science at Columbia have 
been authorized by the trustees to open their courses to auditors, with 



474 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

the understanding that these may be either men or women. Audi- 
tors, as such, have no right to examination or other official recogni- 
tion, but the students of Barnard have all such' privileges under the 
general arrangement between the colleges. The faculty of philosophy, 
which has charge of the departments of philosophy and education, 
and of the oriental, Greek, Latin, Germanic, romance, and English 
languages and literatures, has used the authoritj^ given it by the trus- 
tees and opened 92 courses to students in Barnard College. The 
faculty of political science has never thrown open any of its courses 
to auditors, and its relation with Barnard offers a very interesting 
phase of the subject. Barnard contributes two professors to the com- 
mon stock. Estimating their services in lectures at six hours each 
per week, the faculty furnish Barnard with twelve hours of lectures 
a week by a number of different professors. Both institutions are 
obviously benefited. Columbia enlarges its staff, and Barnard has 
the range of a department of specialists instead of being limited to its 
own two. This arrangement, which was completed during the year 
1894, went into effect in 1895-96 and opened to women unusual advant- 
ages in the department of historical, economic, and social study, sup- 
plemented by practical work and investigation, for which New York 
City offers an exceptional field. 

The Columbia faculty of pure science have never received permis- 
sion to open their courses to auditors, and the conditions under which 
Barnard students receive elective and graduate instruction in the 
subjects under the direction of this faculty shows a third aspect of 
Barnard's relations with Columbia. In mathematics an arrangement 
has been made similar to that with the faculty of political science. 
Barnard contributes one professor of mathematics to a total of three, 
and receives her share of their services. The lectures are delivered 
at Barnard College. In the natural sciences, the work in chemistry 
and zoology is done at Barnard by instructors in Columbia. In 
physics a special instructor is secured by Barnard, with the approval 
of Columbia. The botanical department is under the charge of the 
only professor appointed by Barnard who has no connection with 
Columbia, Professor Emily L. Gregory, Ph. D. 

But under all these varying conditions a uniformity of standard is 
secured by the fact that Columbia awards all the degrees and estab- 
lishes her own requirements, which must be met by every department. 
Special students are admitted only to courses in natural science and 
political science. After a four years' course in natural science, spe- 
cial students receive a certificate from Barnard College ; special stu- 
dents in political science receive no testimonial beyond such p3rsonal 
statements as they may obtain from instructors. 

The degrees and certificates awarded to students in Barnard Col- 
lege read as follows: 



BAENARD COLLEGE. 475 

1. Degree of Bachelor of Arts. 

Cvratores Collegii ColvmbisB Neo Eborancensio omnibvs et singvlis ad qvos prte- 

sentes litterse pervenerint salvtem. Sciatis nos ■ qvge exercitationes 

oinnes ad gradvm Baccalavrei In Artibvs attinentes in CoUegio Barnardino nostro 
rite ac legitime peregerit ad istvm gradvm provexisse eiqve omnia ivra privilegia 
et honores qvse adsolent in tali re adtribvi dedisse et concessisse. 

In cvivs rei plenivs testimonivm chiragraphis praesidis hvivs Collegii et decani 
ScholsB Artivm Liber alivm nee non sigillo nostro commvni diploma hocce mvni- 
endvm cvravimvs. 

Datvm Novi Eboraci die mensis . 

Annoqve Millesimo Octingentesimo Nonagesimo. 

• — ■ , Decanvs. 

, Prceses. 

2. Degree of blaster of Arts. 

Cvratores Collegii Colvmbise Neo-Eborancensis omnibvs et singvlis ad qvos prse- 

sentes litterse pervenerint salvtem. Sciatis nos qvi exercitationes 

omnes ad gradvm Magistri in Artibvs attinentes rite ac legitime peregerit ad istvm 
gradvm ijrovexisse eiqve omnia ivra privilegia et honores qvse adsolent in tali re 
adtribvi dedisse et concessisse. 

In cvivs rei plenivs testimonivm chirographo prsesidis hvivs collegii nee non 
sigillo nostro commvni diploma laocee mvniendum cvravimvs. 

Datvm Novi Eboraci die ■ mensis . 

Annoqve Millesimo Octingentesimo Nonagesimo. 

, Prceses. 

3. Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. 

Cvratores Collegii Colvmbiae Neo-Eborancensis omnibvs et singvlis ad qvos prse- 

sentes litterse pervenerint salvtem. Sciatis nos qvi exercitationes 

omnes ad gradvm Doctoris in Pliilosophia attinentes rite ac legitime peregerit ad 
istvm gradum provexisse eiqve omnia ivra privilegia et honores qvse adsolent in 
tali re adtribvi dedisse et concessisse. 

In cvivs rei plenivs testimonivm chirographo praesidis hvivs collegii nee non 
sigillo nostro commvni diploma hocce mvniendvm cvravimvs. 

Datvm Novi Eboraci die mensis . 

Annoqve Millesimo Octingentesimo Nonagesimo. 

, Prceses. 

4. Certificate of special course in Science. 

Barnakd College, New York. 

This is to certify that has fulfilled all the requirements and passed 

the examinations in the course in . 

-■ , Dean. 

New York City, 

, 18-. 



CHAPTER 7. 

PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL SCHOOLS. 

Many of the professional schools in the State are departments in 
universities already described, and it has been thought that the 
attempt to give adequate histories of these schools would unduly 
extend the limits of this report. 

Exception has been made, however, of two institutions, the Rens- 
selaer Polytechnic Institute, at Troy, and the Teachers' College, at 
New York. The former holds such an important place in the growth 
of technological education in this country, and has had so profound 
an influence upon the development of the material resources of the 
United States, that it deserves a place even in this general history. 

The Teachers' College likewise deserves special mention, because it 
is an unique institution in the heighth and breadth of its aim and in 
its remarkable success in reaching this aim.^ 

In order to give some idea of the extent of the work done in the 
State in professional and technical education a list is here given taken 
from Regents' Report 110, for the year 1896. 

1 The Teachers' College has, since this report was written, been incorporated 
in Columbia University. 

476 



PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL SCHOOLS. 



477 



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480 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

TEACHERS' COLLEGE. 

[Furnished by President Hervey.] 
HISTORY AKD PURPOSE. 

It was the design of the founders of the Teachers' College to afford 
a place for the scientific study of the educational problems of the 
time ; to create a more intelligent and active interest in jpublic educa- 
tion, and to this end to train superintendents and teachers for all 
grades of schools. The work was undertaken by a group of men and 
women whose conception of what schools should teach was derived 
chiefly from the knowledge of what life requires ; whose interest and 
alms were at first primarily philanthropic, but who later found that, 
of all roads to reform, education is the surest and most direct, and 
that in education the key to progress is the training of teachers. 

Under the name New York College for the Training of Teachers, 
this institution received a provisional charter from the board of 
regents of the University of the State of New York, January 12, 1889. 
December 14, 1892, all the conditions of the provisional charier as to 
financial support, endowment, and educational standing having been 
fully met, the charter was made absolute, and the name was changed 
by mutual consent to Teachers' College. The first president was 
Nicholas Murray Butler, Ph. D., of Columbia College. He was suc- 
ceeded in 1891 by the former dean of the faculty, Walter Lowrie 
Hervey, Ph. D. 

The Teachers' College is a professional school, designed to equip 
intending teachers thoroughly for their profession and to afford to 
those who are already members of the profession opportunities for 
specialization and graduate study. 

COURSES OF STUDY LEADING TO A DIPLOMA. 

The diploma is granted only after a course two years in length. 
Certain courses in psychology and the history of education and in the 
science and art of teaching are required of all students as furnishing 
the foundations of professional training. In addition to these gen- 
eral studies each student, according as he elects to be a general 
teacher or a specialist, completes his program by following either the 
general course or a special course in one of the ten departments of the 
college, which are as follows: Psychology and the history of educa- 
tion, science and art of teaching, English language and literature, 
history, Latin and Greek; kindergarten, science, domestic science 
and art, manual training and art education, physical training. 

Only graduates of accredited colleges are admitted without exami- 
nation. 

Students of both sexes are received. 









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TEACHERS' COLLEGE— MAIN BUILDING, MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS. 




TEACHERS' COLLEGE— MECHANIC ARTS BUILDING. 



teachers' college. 481 

INTRODLTCTORY COURSES AND TERMS OF ADMISSION. 

As few students who are not college graduates have been found to 
possess the degree of preparation or maturity of mind necessary for 
the successful jjursuit of professional studies, the college now oifers 
an introductory course of two years. This course is designed to bridge 
the gap between the high school and the professional course. Its cen- 
tral study is English, as the central study of the professional course 
is psj^chology; the one is designed to preiDare for the other. It is 
especially strong in all studies involving expression and constructive 
activity. 

SCHOOL OF OBSERVATION AND PRACTICE. 

In vital connection with the college there exists a school, known as 
the Horace Mann School, in which, under unity of plan and adminis- 
tration, every stage in the school life of a child — from the kindergarten 
through the high school — is represented, and the complete curriculum 
may be studied as an organic whole. 

This school exists primarily for the iDurpose of affording to those 
pursuing the professional course an opportunity for observation and 
practice, but being under the personal superintendence of the heads 
of departments in the college, and having in addition a competent 
staff of professional teachers, it is able to prepare candidates for 
entrance to colleges, both literary and scientific, and to prepare for 
citizenship and the active duties of life. 

ALLIANCE WITH COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. 

For the purpose of securing to the students of Columbia College, 
Barnard College, and the Teachers' College reciprocal advantages and 
opportunities, an agreement, taking effect July 1, 1893, was entered 
into between the above-named institutions. By the terms of this 
agreement certain courses of instruction in the Teachers' College are 
accepted by Columbia as counting toward the Columbia College de- 
grees of A. B. , A. M. , and Ph. D. These courses pass under the charge 
of the faculty of philosophy of Columbia College, and the members of 
the faculty of the Teachers' College are represented on that faculty. 

For persons actually engaged in the work of teaching, but who wish 
to pursue further courses of professional study in order to enable them 
to meet satisfactorily the demands made upon them by the continual 
expansion and elevation of the school curriculum throughout the 
country, Saturday classes are organized in the several departments of 
the college. 

THE PUBLIC OPENING OP THE NEW BUILDINGS. 

The new buildings on Morningside Heights were formally opened 
on "Founder's Day," November 15, 1894. The Outlook, in its issue 
of November 24, 1894, thus describes the event: 

A notable event in the history of Greater New York was the formal opening of 
the new buildings of the Teachers' College in Morningside Park on Thursday 
3176 31 



482 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDlTCATIOlSr IN" NEW YORE:. 

afternoon of last week. This institution is the pioneer of the group of colleges 
and public buildings which will shortly crown the noble heights which overlook 
the Hudson on the one side and the city, the East River, and Long Island on the 
other. The Teachers' College, by the evolution of sound ideas, of intelligent man- 
agement, and of deep convictions, has become one of the foremost institutions in 
the country. Its specific aims and its special methods have been described in 
these columns. It is at last worthily housed, although only a part of its building 
plan has so far been realized. The position which it has already attained and the 
influence which it is already exerting are evidenced by the fact that, in taking 
possession of its new quarters, it was able to call to its aid, as interpreters of the 
occasion, the presidents of Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and Columbia universities, 
all of whom bore testimony to the advance in educational ideas which it represents. 

GROWTH AND FINANCIAL STATUS. 

Some idea of the growth of the Teachers' College may be conveyed 
by the following quotation from an article by Rosa Belle Holt, appear- 
ing in the Cosmopolitan Magazine, March, 1894: 

The Teachers' College has been established but a few years, and yet more than 
half of the States of the Union and several foreign countries are represe^^ted en 
its rolls: there is not a railroad or a ferry going into New York City that does not 
regularly carry its students; the number of applicants for admission exceeds t^ie 
present accommodations, and the demand for its graduates has always betn 
greater than the supply. 

The results of this rapid growth and the present financial status may be seen 
at a glance in the following summary taken from the Teachers' College Bulletin: 

" Trustees, 17: professors and instructors, 42; departments, 12: courses, 75. 

" Teachers now in the field, 900; now in attendance, 237; pupils in the school of 
observation and practice, 295. 

"Total estimated current expenses for 1893-94, $69,000, of which $37,000 is 
expected to come from earnings, the remainder from donations. Number of 
donors, 1892-93, 55. 

"Value of land, $150,000; main building, when completed, $350,000; gift of 
manual arts building, $225,000; estimated cost of western wing (not yet providei ' 
for the departments of physical training, domestic science, and arts, $175,000." 

AIMS IN FUTURE DEVELOPMENT. 

The writer of the same article in her closing words, quoted below, 
shows some of the broader aims of the college for the future : 

From its coigne of vantage on Morningside heights, the college will aim to 
widen its influence so as to reach not only the schools, but the homes. In addi- 
tion to its proper function of offering a competent training to those upon whom 
devolves the most important work of superintending the education of the rising 
generation, it will endeavor, so far as it may be given support, to reach the mass 
of the people. It will endeavor to do this by offering popular lectures upon com- 
mon themes, by holding mothers' meetings and fathers' meetings, and by opening 
after-school classes for the children and evening classes for the wage-earners, and 
in every way possible reach forward and extend its influence for good far and 
wide. By these methods of directly reaching the people, the trustees hope to 
make the college a center of light and power, and to make good the claim some- 
times advanced in its behalf that it is the true type of " the people's college." 




A SEWING LESSON IN THE PRIMARY CLASSES. 




TEACHERS' COLLEGE— IN THE LIBRARY. 



TEACHERS COLLEGE. 483 

INCORPORATION INTO COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. 

Teachers' College became, by an agreement dated February 28, 
1898, a part of the educational system of Columbia University. The 
president of Columbia University is president, ex officio, of Teachers' 
College, and the university professors of philosophy and education 
and of psychology are members of the faculty of Teachers' College, 
which is in turn represented upon the university council by the dean 
and an elected representative of its faculty. 

Teachers' College maintains its separate corporate organization, and 
its board of trustees continues to assume the entire financial respon- 
sibility for its maintenance. 

Teachers' College is the professional school of Columbia University 
for the study of education and the training of teachers. It takes 
academic rank with the schools of law, medicine, and applied science. 
The purpose of Teachers' College is to afford opportunity, both theo- 
retical and practical, for the training of teachers of both sexes for 
elementary and secondary schools, of specialists in various branches 
of school work, and of principals, supervisors, and superintendents 
of schools. Students of university grade and experienced teachers 
are afforded the most ample facilities for practical work, as well as 
for special study and research. 

Columbia University accepts courses in education as part of the 
equipment required for the degrees of A. B., A. M., and Ph. D. 
Graduate students who prefer to devote their entire time to profes- 
sional study and investigation may become candidates for the higher 
diploma of Teachers' College. The college diploma is conferred upon 
students who have successfully completed some one of the general 
courses, which are fully described in the announcement of Teachers' 
College for 1898-99; a departmental diploma upon those who have 
fitted themselves for particular branches of school work, and a certifi- 
cate testifying to work actually performed upon students who have 
pursued partial courses. The course of studj^^ for intending teachers 
in secondary schools is so arranged that undergraduate students of 
Columbia and Barnard colleges may, if they so desire, receive the 
diploma of Teachers' College at the time of receiving the degree of 
bachelor of arts. 

The Horace Mann School, fully equipped with kindergarten, ele- 
mentary, and secondary classes, is maintained by Teachers' College 
as a school of observation and practice. It offers unexcelled advan- 
tages for the investigation of educational problems and for the study 
of the practical work of teaching. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Century Magazine. October, 1889. *' The Training of the Teacher." 

The Teachers' College. Rosa Belle Holt. Cosmopolitan Magazine. March, 1894. 

Teachers' College Bulletin. Published monthly since September, 1894. 



484 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE. 

[By Palmer C. Ricketts, C. E., Director of the Institute. ] 
PURPOSE OF THE POUNDER. 

This institution, located at Troy, IST. Y., was founded by the Hon. 
Stephen Van Rensselaer, of Albany, IST. Y., in the year 1824, and was 
named at that time the Rensselaer School. It was incorporated by 
the legislature by act of March 21, 1826. 

It was established as a school of practical science. The intention 
of its founder will be understood by quoting from a letter, dated 
November 5, 1824, written by him to the Rev. Dr. Blatchford, who 
was the first president of the school : 

I have established a school at the north end of Troy for the purpose of instruct- 
ing persons who may choose to apply themselves in the application of science to 
the common purposes of life. My iDrincipal object is to qualify teachers for in- 
structing sons and daughters of farmers and mechanics, by lectures or otherwise, 
on the application of experimental chemistry, philosophy, and natural history to 
agriculture, domestic economy, the arts, and manufactures. 

And in acircular of the school issued in 1826 the following clause 
occurs : 

The Rensselaer School was founded by the Hon. Stephen Van Rensselaer solely 
for the purpose of affording an opportunity to the farmer, the mechanic, the 
clergyman, the lawyer, the physician, the merchant, and in short, to the man of 
business or of leisure, of any calling whatever, to become practically scientific. 

In the letter above referred to a board of trustees was appointed, 
articles for the temporarj^ government of the school were enunciated, 
and Amos Eaton, of Troy, was made senior professor. The first meet- 
ing of the board of trustees occurred on the 29tli of December, 1824, 
at which time the name Rensselaer School was given to the institution. 
It was opened on the 5th of January, 1825, and an act of incorpora- _ 
tion was passed by the legislature March 21, 1826. fl 

The usefulness of the school was extended in this year bj"" the estab- 
lishment of what was called a "preparation branch," the object of 
which was fully enunciated in the circular of 1826, from which a quota- 
tion has already been made. 

As this circular is the first prospectus of a school of science ever 
issued in the English language, and as there may be drawn from it 
interesting inferences in relation to the state of scientific knowledge 
in this country at that date, it is given verbatim: 

PRKFAKATION BRANCH RECENTLY ESTABLISHED AT RENSSELAER SCHOOL. 

From a respect for the frequent solicitations of many gentlemen in the Southern 
States, and of some in the Northern, and from a desire expressed by the patron, 
to see the results of an extension of his plan, a preparation branch was this day 
established at this school, to go into operation on the third Wednesday in November. 



RE]SrSSELAP:R POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE. 485 

The folio iving is an outline of the Plan, 

1. The original method of instruction which has produced such unexpected 
results, called the Rensselaerean method, will be extended to this branch; to wit, 
that of exercising the student, on the forenoon of each day, by causing him to 
give an extemporaneous dissertation or lecture on the subject of his course, from 
concise written memoranda; and to spend the afternoon in scJiolastic amusements. 

2. The circle of instruction is divided into five parts ; and to each part is attached 
a course of summer and lointer afternoon amusements. The following order will 
be observed in the fall and winter terms. In the spring term it will be inverted. 

First Division . Botany and Etymology. (The latter branch will extend to so 
much knowledge of the structure of the Latin, Greek, and French languages, as 
will enable the student to trace scientific terms to their themes, which are derived 
from those languages. ) Amusements. For stmimer. Collecting and preserving 
minerals, plants and insects. For winter none, as this division will not be studied 
in the winter. 

Second Division. Geography and History. Amusements. For summer. 
Selecting specimens for illustrating the physiology of vegetation, and examining 
them under the common, and the solar, microscopes, and making drawings of 
their internal structure. For ivinter. Each making a globe of plaster of Paris, 
and drawing the chief subjects of geography upon it. 

Third Division. Elements of practical mathematics and of moral philoso- 
phy. Amusements. For summer. Land-surveying, taking the latitude, and per- 
forming simple hydraulic experiments. For winter. Making and using a set of 
mechanical powers, exercises in percussion with suspended balls, guaging, meas- 
uring cordwood and timber. 

Fourth Division. Logic and Rhetoric. Amusements. For summer. Exper- 
imenting upon the most common gases, as oxygen (obtained from vegetables by 
the action of light) nitrogen, hydrogen, carbonic acid (with its combination in 
soda-water) testing their specific gravities, &c. and experimenting upon aqueous 
exhalations — all to be performed with apparatus made with their own hands. 
For ivinter. Making and using galvanic batteries and piles, electrometers and 
magnets; and disengaging combined caloric by compression and affinity. 

Fifth Division. Elementary principles of government and law, and parlia- 
mentary rules. Amusements. ¥ or spring dsn.^ fall. Constructing dials, fixing 
meridians, constructing and using air-thermometers and hj'grometers, taking 
specific gravities, using the blow-pipe and constructing the three elementary 
musical chords to illustrate the science of tones. For -winter. Making camera- 
obscura boxes; producing focal images by a pair of common burning glasses and 
ice lenses, and illustrating the microscope and telescope by the same; illustrating 
the laws of refraction and reflection by cheap mirrors and vessels of water, and 
separating the coloured rays by ice cut into triangular prisms. 

Candidates are admitted to the preparation branch, who are deemed of sufficient 
discretion for going through the course, provided they have been successfully 
taught in reading, writing, common arithmetic and English grammar. The 
Faculty of Rensselaer School are to judge upon their qualifications; but the Trus- 
tees have, in the second article of the by-laws of this branch, expressed an opinion, 
that " the age of thirteen or fourteen years and upwards, is best adapted to this 
course. " 

Expenses. Tuition $1 50 cents for every three weeks, which constitutes a step 
in the circle. Students may enter either step in the circle at the commencement 
of every three weeks, reckoning from the beginning of each term. The terms or 
sessions of this branch, correspond with the other terms of the School. Board, 
in commons with the other students, never to exceed $1 50 per week. Rooms will 



486 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN" ISTEW YORK. 

be furnished at or near the school, to be under the inspection and control of the 
faculty, at a small expense. No charge is made for the use of public rooms, 
library, chemical and philosophical apparatus, tools of the workshop, or the 
cabinet. And each student will attend the daily lectures of the Professors, free 
of charges. A student of strict prudence, may pay all his expenses for the 42 
weeks in each year, at this branch, with $120, as follows: Tuition $21: board 
$63: fuel and lights $10: washing and lodging $10: text books $6: amusement 
apparatus, $10. 

As this circular may fall into the hands of some, who have not read the new 
code of by-laws, passed April 3d, 1826, and the legislative act of incorporation, 
passed March 2Ist, 1826. it may be advisable to state as follows: 

The Rensselaer School was founded by the Honorable Stephen Van Rensselaer, 
solely for the purpose of affording an opportunity to the farmer, the mechanic, 
the clergyman, the lawyer, the j)hysician, the merchant, and in short, to the jnan 
of business or of leisure, of any calling whatever, to become x>T'acticaJly scientific. 
Though the branches which are not taught here, are held in high estimation, it is 
believed that a school attempting every thing, makes proficients in nothing. The 
Rensselaer School, therefore, is limited to an experimental course in the Nat- 
ural Sciences. The studies of the preparation branch are extended no farther 
than is necessary, as auxiliaries to the experimental course. 

The FALL term commences on the third Wednesday in July, and continues 15 
weeks. 

The winter term commences on the third Wednesday in November, and con- 
tinues 12 weeks. 

The SPRING term commences on the first Wednesday in March, and continues 
until the last Wednesday in June; which is the day of the annual commencement. 

Expenses. All the same as in the preparation branch, with the addition of 
double the charge for tuition in the fall and spring terms, on account of the great 
additional labor required for teaching the student to perform with his own hands 
about sixteen hundred exijeriments in chemistry and natural philosophy. But 
students who have gone through a course in the preparation branch with success, 
will not be required to attend the winter term. This will reduce the necessary 
expenses to about $95 for the whole experimental course. 

Many unsuccessful attempts have been made to render science amusing to the 
youthful mind. They have generally proved verj^ unprofitable, by diverting the 
attention of the student from literary pursuits, and by creating an attachment to 
useless, and often demoralizing sports. By the plan adopted at this school, the 
objections to scholastic amusements are effectually obviated; and it will appear 
by this circular, that those have been selected, which will give due exercise to 
both body and mind. The muscular powers of the body will be called into action, 
and their forces will be directed by mental ingenuity, until the student becomes 
familiar with the most important scientific manipulations, and particularly with 
those which will be most useful in the common concerns of life. 

The Rensselaerean scheme for communicating scientific knowledge had never 
been attempted on either continent, until it was instituted at this school, two 
years ago. Many indeed mistook it, at first, for Fellenberg's method; but its 
great superiority has now been satisfactorily tested by its effects. As the experi- 
mental school, as well as the preparation branch, were founded solely for the 
public benefit by its disinterested patron, it is the particular desire of the trustees, 
that its excellences should be understood and imitated at other schools, as set 
forth in a former circular. Like other useful inventions, much expense was 
required for making the first experiment. Fortunately for science, the trial has 
been fairly made at the expense of many thousands, advanced by a single indi- 



I 



RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE. 487 

vidual. Now it may he followed, in its chief advantages, by every school district; 
while the parent school at Troy will prepare competent teachers. 

By order of the Trustees. 

SAMUEL BLATCHFORD, President. 

Rensselaer School, Troy, (N. Y.) Sept. 14, 1826. 



OFFICERS OF THE SCHOOL. 

PATRON, 

Hon. Stephen Van Rensselaer, with the power to appoint all Examiners. 

TRUSTEES, 

Surveyor Gen. S. De Witt and Prof. T. R. Beck, of Albany— Hon. J. D. Dickinson and Hon. 
R. P. Hart, of Troy— Rev. Dr. Blatchford and E. Parmelee, Esquire, of Lansingburgh— Hon. 
Gr. Van Schoonhoven and Hon. J. Cramer, of Waterford. 

FACULTY, 

Rev. S. Blatchford, President,— A. Eaton, Sen. Prof.— L. C. Beck, Jun. Prof. 

AUXILIARY OFFICERS, 

Dr. Moses Hale, Sec'ry.— Mr. H. N. Lockwood, Treas.— T. Dwight Eaton, Monitor and Libra- 
rian.— Asahel Gilbert, Steward.— Cyrus A. Lockwood, Esquire, Acting Steward. 

AMOS EATON. 

A slight digression is necessary to give a short account of one whose 
remarkable powers as a teacher of science insured its early success. 
Amos Eaton, the first senior professor, was born at Chatham, N. Y., 
in 1776. He gave evidence at an early age of superior ability and 
aptitude in the acquirement of scientific knowledge. At the age of 
16, with homemade instruments, he had become a practical surveyor, 
and in 1799 graduated at Williams College with a high reputation for 
his scientific attainments. Although he at first studied law and was 
admitted to the bar in 1802, he never lost his interest in natural 
sciences, and abandoning his profession went to Yale College in 1815 
to more thoroughly fit himself for scientific pursuits. He had given 
in 1810 a course of popular lectures on botany, and in 1817 returned 
to Williamstown to give lectures to volunteer classes in botany, min- 
eralogy, and geology. Giving evidence here of his value as a teacher, 
and of his remarkable power of exciting the interest and enthusiasm of 
students, he determined to deliver a series of popular lectures through- 
out New England and other States. This was done with great success. 
According to Prof. Albert Hopkins he was one of the first to popularize 
science in the Northern Stiates. In 1820 he was appointed professor 
of natural history in the Medical College at Castleton, Vt., and in this 
and the following year made, under the patronage of Stephen Van 
Rensselaer, geological and agricultural surveys of Albany and Rens- 
selaer counties in the State of New York. There was thus acquired 
a knowledge of his capabilities which secured his appointment as 
senior professor in the Rensselaer Institute. He left the imprint of 
genius upon this school, and died at Troy in 1842. 



HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

He was not only an able teacher, but a scientific investigator and 
explorer as well. His practical work and writings attest this. His 
first work, a treatise on botany, was published in 1810, and his last, 
on geology, in 1841, He wrote on botany, zoology, chemistry, geology, 
and surveying. The different editions of his various books amount 
in all to about 40 publications.^ 

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICAL ARTS ESTABLISHED. 

By an act of the legislature passed in 1832 the name of the institu- 
tion was changed from the Rensselaer School to the Rensselaer Insti- 
tute, and in 1833 by the same authority the trustees were empowered 
to establish a department of mathematical arts for the purpose of 
giving instruction in engineering and technology. 

From its inception to this time the institution has been a school of 
natural science, its graduates receiving the degree A, B. (r. s.). 

A consideration of the condition of the country and of the state of 
scientific knowledge as applied to the constructive arts toward the 
beginning of the century shows why this was the case. At the time 
of the foundation of the school it could hardly be said that there were 
in this country any engineers other than military engineers. But 
few miles of canal had been built, the Erie canal having been begun 
in 1817. There were no railroads, the first one having been opened 
in 1830. The term civil engineer had hardly been coined. The inclu- 
sion, therefore, among the duties of the senior professor, in the first 
triennial catalogue, published in 1828, of lectures on civil engineering 
is significant of the broad and enlightened views of the founder and 
officers of instruction. 

The foundation of the department of mathematical arts resulted in 
the establishment of a coarse in civil engineering, and eight members 
of the class of 1835 received the degree of civil engineer (C. E.). This 
was the first class in civil engineering graduated in any English- 
speaking country. There follows a copy of a notice dated October 14, 
1835, in which the curriculum of the engineer corps is set forth. It 
is interesting not only because it is the first prospectus of a school of 
civil engineering ever issued in English, but because it adds to our 
information of the state of applied science in this country at that 
date. A more striking indication than this notice of the advance- 
ment, during the last sixty years, in the application of scientific 
knowledge to the development of the constructive arts can hardly be 
given. This is especially the case with those parts of it relating to 
the conferring of degrees, where it is stated that the degree of civil 
engineer is conferred on candidates of 17 years or upward, and that 
one year is sufficient for obtaining the degree. Also that graduates 
of colleges may succeed in obtaining it by close application during 

' See Nason's Biographical Record of the Officers and Graduates of the Rensse- 
laer Polytechnic Institute, and Durfee's History of Williams College. 



RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE. 489 

the twenty-four weeks in the summer term. It is to be remembered, 
that civil engineering meant at that time all branches of engineering 
other than military. 

TIRST CIVIL ENGINEERING PROSPECTUS. 

Notices of Rensselaer Institute, 

Troy, N. Y., October 14, 1835. 

[Being tlie answer to letters of inquiry.] 



Hon. STEPHEN VAN RENSSELAER, Patron, with the right to appoint the 
Annual Board of Examiners. 

ACTING FACULTY. 

Rev. E. NOTT, D. D., President— also President of Union College. 

Judge DAVID BUEL, Jr., Vice President. 

AMOS EATON, Senior Professor, and Professor of Civil Engineering; also 
holding the Agency and Supervision of the Institute. 

EBENEZER EMMONS, Junior Professor. 

JAMES HALL, Professor of Chemistry and Physiology. 

Assistants— Edward Suffern and D. S. Smalley. 

Instruction, wholly practical, illustrated hy Experiments and Sjjeciviens, is given 
4.0 weeks in each year. Five days in each w^eek the forenoon exercises are from 8 
A. M. to 1 P. M. 

Winter Session commences the third Wednesday in November, and continues 
16 weeks. During the first 12 weeks, each forenoon is devoted to practical Mathe- 
matics, Arithmetical and Geometrical. This is a most important course for men 
of business, young and old. During the last 4 weeks of the Winter Term, extem- 
poraneous Speaking on the subjects of Logic, Rhetoric, Geology, Geography and 
History, is the forenoon exercise. Throughout the whole session the afternoon 
exercises are Composition, and, in fair Weather, exercises in various Mathematical 
Arts. A course of Lectures on National and Municipal Law, is given by the 
Senior Professor. 

Summer Session commences on the last Wednesday in April, and continues 24 
weeks: ending with Commencement. 

Students of the Natural Science Department are instructed as folloivs: 

Three weeks, wholly practical Botany, with specimens. 

Four weeks. Zoology, including organic remains; and Physiology, including the 
elements of Organic Chemistry. 

Three and a half weeks, Geology and Mineralogy, with specimens. 

Three weeks, traveling between Connecticut River and Schoharie Kill, for mak- 
ing collections to be preserved by each student, and exhibited at examinations; 
also for improving in the knowledge of Natural History and Mathematical Arts. 

Ten weeks. Chemistry and Natural Philosophy. 

Half a week, preparing for examination and Commencement. 

The afternoons of all fair days are devoted to Surveying, Engineering, and 
various Mathematical Arts — also to Mineralizing, Botanizing, and to collecting 
and preserving subjects in Zoology. 

Students of the Engineer Corps are instructed as folloivs: 

Eight weeks, in learning the use of Instruments; as Compass, Chain, Scale, Pro- 
tractor, Dividers, Level, Quadrant. Sextant, Barometer, Hydrometer, Hygrometer, 
Pluviometer, Thermometer. Telescope, Microscope, &c., with their applications 
to Surveying. Protracting. Leveling, calculating Excavations and Embankments, 



490 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

taking Heights and Distances, Specific Gravity and Weight of Liquids, Degrees of 
Moisture, Storms, Temperature, Latitude and Longitude by lunar observations 
and eclipses. 

Eight weeks, Mechanical Powers, Circles, Conic Sections, construction of 
Bridges, Arches, Piers, Rail-Roads, Canals, running Circles for Rail-Ways, cor- 
recting the errors of long Levels, caused by refraction and the Earth's convexity, 
calculating the height of the Atmosphere by twilight, and its whole weight on any 
given portion of the Earth, its pressure on Hills and in Valleys as affecting the 
height for fixing the lower valve of a Pump; in calculating the Moon's distance 
by its horizontal parallax, and the distances of Planets by proportionals of cubes 
of times to squares of distances. 

Four weeks, in calculating the quantity of Water per second, &c., supplied by 
streams as feeders for Canals, or for turning Machinery; in calculating the veloc- 
ity and quantity effused per second, &c. , from flumes and various vessels, under 
various heads; the result of various accelerating and retarding forces of water 
flowing in open race-ways and pipes of waterworks, and in numerous miscellane- 
ous calculations respecting Hydrostatics and Hydrodynamics. 

Four weeks, study the effect of Steam and inspect its various applications — 
Wind, as applied to Machinery; also Electro-Magnetism — inspect the principal 
Mills, Factories, and other Machinery or works which come within the province 
of Mathematical Arts; also, study as much Geology as maybe required forjudging 
of Rocks and Earth concerned in construction. 

Fees for instruction, including all Lectures, Experiments, &c.; also for use of 
Instruments, Apparatus, Library and Specimens, $4 for each sub-term of four 
weeks. No student received for less than a sub- term. No extra charge excepting 
$8 for the course of Experimental Chemistry, where each student gives a course of 
experiments with his own hands. 

Students furnish their own fuel, light, and text-books. Each boards where he 
pleases; but the Professors will aid strangers in the selection of boarding houses. 
A small number of strangers are boarded at the School at $2 per week; they furnish 
their own bedding, washing, &c. 

The Rensselaer degree of Bachelor of Natural Science is conferred on all qualified 
persons of 17 years or upwards. The Rensselaer degree of Civil Engineer is con- 
ferred on candidates of 17 years and upwards, who are well qualified in that 
department. This power was given to the President, by an amendment to the 
Charter, passed last session of the Legislature. Candidates are admitted to the 
institute who have a good knowledge of Arithmetic, and can understand good 
authors readily, and can compose with considerable facility. 

After a trial of two seasons, it is found to be inexpedient to enter young lads in 
the regular divisions, before they have sufficient pride of character to govern their 
conduct when preparing for their exercises in the absence of a teacher; arrange- 
ments will therefore be made for having a teacher always present with them, 
when they are not in the immediate charge of a Professor or Assistant. 

Students in any one department have the right to attend one Experimental 
Lecture each day in the other departments, free of expense. 

One year is sufficient for obtaining the Rensselaer degree of Bachelor of Natural 
Science, or of Civil Engineer, for a candidate who is well prepared to enter. 
Graduates of Colleges may succeed by close application during the 24 weeks In the 
Summer term. 

Candidates may commence the course at the beginning of any sub-term; but 
the third Wednesday of November is to be preferred unless the candidate is a 
graduate of a regular College, or otherwise well instructed in general Mathe- 
matics and Literature. In such cases the last Wednesday in April is the most 
suitable time of entering. His theoretical views may then be reduced to practice 
during the Summer course. 



EENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE. ' 491 

The degree of Master of Arts is conferred after two years of practical applica- 
tion. 

Gentlemen wishing to learn the outline of the terms of the Rensselaer Institute, 
are requested to pay postage on their letters; and they will receive this printed 
notice. If this appears to be a " narrow notice," I will state that I paid $54.28 in 
one year in postage for letters on others' business: some for our school course, 
more for advice about mines, minerals, and visionary projects. 

Amos Eaton, Agent. 

Rensselaer Institute, Troy, Oct. 14, 1835. 

Upon the death, of Amos Eaton, in 1842, George H. Cook, of the 
class of 1839, afterwards widely known for his work as State geolo- 
gist of New Jersej'', became senior professor. Under his direction 
the school was reorganized and the courses of instruction somewhat 
extended. He resigned in 1847 and was succeeded by B. Franklin 
Greene, of the class of 1842, who became director of the institution 
when that office was created by act of legislature in 1850. 

REORGANIZATION OF THE SCHOOL. 

His acceptance of the position marks an epoch in the history of 
the school. After a careful study of the scientific and technical 
institutions of Europe, the curriculum was, under his direction, thor- 
oughly reorganized in 1849. This reorganization included a material 
enlargement of the course of study and the requirement of a more 
rigid standard of scholarship from candidates for degrees. The num- 
ber of instructors was also increased and the length of time devoted 
to the course was changed to three years, with a "preparatory class," 
which made it practically four years in duration. The graduating or 
senior class was called Division A, and the others Divisions B and C. 
In 1858 the preparatory class was merged into the regular course under 
the name of Division D. 

Professor Greene published in 1856 a pamphlet of 84 pages entitled 
The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Its Reorganization in 1849- 
5,0 — Its Condition at the Present Time — Its Plans and Hopes for the 
Future. This, as its title indicates, was descriptive of the reorgani- 
zation. Two paragraphs are quoted from it to show more clearly the 
character of the changes and the intentions >of the authorities : 

The managers of the institute therefore resolved that their field should be nar- 
rowed and more thoroughly cultivated; that, indeed, their educational objects 
should be restricted to matters immediately cognate to architecture and engineer- 
ing; that, moreover, for a somewhat irregular and for the most part optional 
course, requiring but a single year for its accomplishment, they would substitute 
a carefully considered curriculum, which should require at the least full three 
years of systematic and thorough training, and that, finally, they would demand 
the application of the strictest examination tests to the successive parts of the 
course prescribed, not only in respect to the translation of students from lower 
to higher classes, but especially in all cases of ultimate graduation with profes- 
sional degrees. 

It was in accordance with such views as these that, in 1849-50, this institution 



492 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IIST NEW YOEK. 

was wholly reorganized upon the basis of a general polytechnic institute, when 
it received the distinctive addition to its title, under which it has since been more 
or less generally known. 

It will be seen from the last paragraph that the name Rensselaer 
Polytechnic Institute was first used in 1849-50. This change was 
ratified by an act of the legislature passed April 8, 1861. 

Thus were inaugurated the course and methods which have resulted 
in giving to the engineering profession of this and other countries 
during the last forty years many of its most distinguished members. 
The main causes of the reputation of the school and of the success 
of its graduates have been the method of instruction then adopted 
and the high standard of scholarship maintained. Although the 
curriculum has of course since been changed from time to time to 
adapt it to the needs of the best modern practice, the methods have 
remained practically unchanged. 

The classes are divided into small sections and each student is 
required to recite each day in every subject. Text-books, suiDplemented 
by lectures and explanations, are used whenever the nature of the 
case permits. The students are not only interrogated, but in almost 
all subjects are required to make blackboard demonstrations. After 
the material constituting each term's work has been finished, a review 
in all subjects follows and afterwards an examination. Close records 
of the work done each day are kept, and the success of the student in 
passing in any subject depends largely upon these daily records. 

PRESIDENTS AND DIRECTORS. 

Director B. Franklin Greene resigned in 1859, and his position was 
occupied until 1860 by Nathan S. S. Beman, D. D., who was at that 
time president of the board of trustees. 

The names of the presidents and directors and the years during 
which they served, from the foundation of the school to the present 
time, are here given : 

PRESIDENTS. 

Rev. Samuel Blatchf ord, D. D. , first president 1824-28 

Rev. John Chester, D. D. , second president 1828-29 

Eliphalet Nott, D. D., LL. D.. third president 1829-45 

Nathan S. S, Beman, D. D., fourth president 1845-65 

Hon. John F. Winslow, fifth president . 1865-68 

Thos. C. Brinsmade, M. D., sixth president .- 1868-68 

Hon. James Forsyth, LL. D. , seventh president . . _ . 1868-86 

John Hudson Peck, LL. D. , eighth president 1888- 

SENIOR PROFESSORS AND DIRECTORS. 

Amos Eaton, A. M. , senior professor 1824-42 

George H. Cook, C. E. , Ph. D. , senior professor _ . 1842-46 

B. Franklin Greene, C. E., A. M., director 1847-59 

Nathans. S. Beman, D. D., director 1859-60 

Charles Drowne, C. E., A. M., director 1860-76 

William L. Adams, C. E., director..,. 1876-78 

David M. Greene, C.E., director 1878-91 

Palmare. Ricketts, C.E., director 1892- 



EENSSELAEE POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE. 493 

REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION. 

The requirements for admission to tlie institute have been in the 
past, and are at present, somewhat elementarj^ in their character. In 
this, as in some other respe.cts, it resembles the United States Military 
and Naval academies. The cause has been the necessity of thorough 
preparation in elementary branches of mathematics, which experience 
has taught can not generally be expected from students who have 
received their mathematical training in the secondary schools of this 
country. For this reason, besides the usual English branches, arith- 
metic, plane geometry, and algebra through quadratic equations only 
are required for admission. Local examinations for entrance are pro- 
vided in a few schools of high grade in various parts of the country. 

NUMBER AND LENGTH OF TERMS. 

Each year is divided into two terms of about nineteen weeks each, 
and examinations are held at the end of each term. Besides this, 
students of Divisions C and B, which correspond to the sophomore 
and junior years of academic schools, go into the field during the 
month of July for instruction in practical surveying of various kinds. 
This is in addition to the survejdng required during other parts of 
the course. 

COURSES OF INSTRUCTION. 

The principal course of instruction given is that in civil engineer- 
ing, and the degree conferred is civil engineer (C. E.). It is to be 
distinctly understood, however, that the instruction is not narrowed 
to any special branch of civil engineering. The design of steam 
engines, as well as that of bridges, sewerage systems, waterworks, 
etc., is taught, and the student receives instruction as well in the 
principles of electrical engineering as in the location and construction 
of roads and railroads. There is also given a course in natural science, 
upon the satisfactory completion of which the degree of Bachelor of 
Science (B. S.) is conferred. 

Special practical courses in chemistrj^ and assaying and in survey- 
ing and railroad engineering are given during the summer vacation. 
That in chemistry and assaying is six weeks in duration, and includes 
either qualitative or quantitative analysis as may be desired. The 
course in surveying and railroad engineering is given in the field 
between June 1 and July 1, and is therefore four weeks in duration. 
Some healthful part of the Adirondack region in the northern part of 
this State is chosen for the work. A special winter course of lectures 
on highwaj^ engineering and road construction is also given. These 
lectures are not technical in their character, being intended for those 
who, without an advanced special training, are engaged or interested 
in the construction and maintenance of country roads. 



494 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

SCHEDULE OP THE COURSE IN CIVIL ENGINEERING. 

FIRST YEAR. 

First term. — Solid geometry; algebra; French; projections, theory; projections, 
drawing; freehand drawing; plane problems; elements of drawing; pen topog- 
raphy. 

Second term.— Tvigonometrj; physics; French; surveying, theory; surveying, 
practice; colored topography; bridge drawing. 

A thesis must be written during the summer vacation. 

SECOND YEAR. 

First term.— 'Physics; logic; descriptive geometry, theory; descriptive geome- 
try, drawing; analytical geometry; surveying, theory; surveying, practice; physi- 
cal experiments. 

Second term. — Chemistry, theory; chemistry, lectures; differential calculus; 
surveying, theory; shades and shadows, theory; shades and shadows, drawing; 
perspective, theory; perspective, drawing; freehand drawing, lettering. 

A thesis must be written during the sammer vacation. A four weeks' course 
in surveying during the month of June is required. 

THIRD YEAR. 

First term. — Integral calculus; rational mechanics; geodesy; highway engineer- 
ing; chemistry, qualitative analysis; mineralogy; electricity and magnetism; map 
drawing. 

Second ierr».— Rational mechanics; structures; railroad engineering, theory; 
astronomy; machine construction, theory; machine construction, plates; chemis- 
try, blowpipe analysis; assaying. 

A thesis must be written during the summer vacation. A four weeks' course in 
railroad engineering during the month of June is required. 

FOURTH YEAR. 

First term.. — Machines; resistance of materials; hydraulics; sewerage; bridges 
and roofs; economic theory of railroad location; practical astronomy, theory; 
practical astronomy, observations; metallurgy; physical laboratory work. 

-Second term. — Bridge design ; hydraulics; hydraulic motors; thermodynamics; 
steam engineering: stonecutting, theory; stonecutting, plates; electrical engi- 
neering; physical laboratory work; geology; Jaw of contracts. 

A graduating thesis must be presented. 

SCHEDULE OF THE COURSE IN NATURAL SCIENCE. 

The studies of the course in natural science are identical with those 
in civil engineering during the first two years. 

THIRD YEAR. 

First ferm.— Calculus; electricity and magnetism; mineralogy, petrography;, 
map drawing; chemistry, qualitative analysis, elementary quantitative analysis. 

Second term.— Astronomy; geology, lithology; histology; chemistry, organic; 
blowpipe analysis; assaying. 

A thesis must be written during the summer vacation. 



EENSSELAEK POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE. 495 

FOURTH YEAR. 

First term. — Metallurgy, general metallurgy, iron metallurgy; chemistry, 
quantitative analysis, analysis of commercial and industrial products; physical 
laboratory work. 

Second term. — Physical laboratory work; paleontology; mineralogy, determina- 
tive; petrography; chemistry, quantitative analysis, volumetric and gravimetric 
analysis; law of contracts. 

A graduating thesis must be presented. 

MATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY. 

The aim of the department is to give each student a thorough work- 
ing knowledge of the several subjects taught. The courses are made 
to bear as directly as possibly upon the training of the engineer. 
During the first year thorough instruction is given in solid geometry, 
higher algebra, and trigonometry. These are followed by analytical 
geometry and differential calculus in the second year, and by integral 
calculus in the third. Lectures on the theory and various forms of 
the slide rule are also delivered. In all these subjects examples of a 
practical nature are constantly given. The text-books used are sup- 
plemented by notes prepared by the instructors. 

A course in descriptive astronomy is given in the third year, and 
that in spherical and practical astronomy in the fourth. In the latter 
are considered the adjustment and use of portable instruments, cor- 
rection of observations, determination of time, latitude, longitude, 
and the meridian, the method of least squares, and similar subjects. 
The theory is supplemented by work in the observatory, where the use 
of the sextant, chronograph, transit instriiment, etc. , is taught. 

DESCRIPTIVE GEOMETRY AND STEREOTOMY. 

In this department careful and thorough instruction is given in free- 
hand drawing, lettering, the use of drawing instruments, tinting, 
shading, isometric and orthographic projections, tracing and making 
blue prints, the theory and practice of shades, shadows and perspec- 
tive, machine construction and drawing, including gearing and the 
slide valve, and stonecutting. In all these subjects a great amount 
of time is spent in the drawing room under the immediate supervision 
of the instructor, and original work sufficient to fix the principles is 
required. In descriptive geometry, for instance, although a lesson is 
assigned for each day from the text-book, the student is seldom given 
a problem found there, but is required to prove an original one illus- 
trating the same principles. Besides the drawing required in the 
course in stone-cutting, plaster of paris models of arches, stairwaj^s, 
etc., are constructed by the students. 

CHEMISTRY, 

The course in chemistry, which is obligatory for all students, con- 
sists of daily lectures during the last part of the second year upon 



496 HISTOKY OF HIGBEE EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. ,; 

general inorganic chemistry. These are accompanied by daily recita- ^ 
tions, including the solution of chemical problems. 

The course in qualitative analysis extends over the first half of the 
third year, with laboratory work five days in each week. During this 
course the student acquires ability to examine analytically all the 
ordinary materials likely to be presented to his attention during his 
professional engineering practice. He is, as far as possible, given 
charge of outside questions which come to the laboratory for solution. 
Blowpipe analysis and assaying extend over part of the second term 
of the third year, particular attention being given to the assay of gold 
and silver and to the recognition of such ores of the heavy metals as 
may be met with in the mining regions of this country. 

Quantitative analysis and organic chemistry are not given to can- 
didates for the degree of civil engineer. Courses in these subjects 
are given to candidates for the degree of bachelor of science, to post- 
graduates, and to special students. Very complete arrangements make 
these courses especially thorough. 

MINERALOGY, GEOLOGY, AND METALLURGY, 

These subjects are taught by means of lectures and recitations. An 
unusually fine collection of rocks, minerals, and designs for iron and 
steel works adds greatly to the value of the courses. 

PHYSICS. 

The course of physics begins in the last term of the first year with 
the mechanics of solids, liquids, and gases, and acoustics. Optics and 
heat are studied during the first term of the second year, and elec- 
tricity and magnetism during the first term of the third year. These 
subjects are developed by daily lectures. The student uses a text- 
book, and is held strictly accountable for an exact knowledge of its 
contents, but much instruction is given additionally in the lectures, 
accompanied with full experimental illustrations. He is required to 
take notes during the course of the lectures and to copy others which 
have been put upon the blackboards. In the course of daily recita- 
tions problems are frequently assigned, and upon these, as well as on 
demonstrations of theory, the student is required to give both oral 
and written explanations. During the first term of the second year 
a course of laboratory work is conducted in which the student is in- 
troduced to the methods of quantitative measurement, and he thus 
acquires some familiarity with the use of physical instruments. For 
each exercise due preparation is made by appropriate reading, and a 
report is written which is examined by the instructor. During the 
first and second terms of the fourth year laboratory practice is con- 
tinued, prominence being given to methods in electrical and magnetic 
measurement. 

During the second term of the fourth year a course in thermody- 
namics is given, and this is followed by lectures on the elements of 



BEISrSSELAER POLyTECHNIO IISISTITUTE. 497 

electrical engineering as an accompaniment to the laboratory work 
in electrical measurement. 

SURVEYING. 

The student begins the work in surveying during his first year at 
the institute. In the second term of this year he is taught the use of 
the chain, tape, and compass. He also makes a compass survey of a 
small piece of land, which is mapped and the area computed. 

In the second year the construction and use of all modern surveying 
instruments, including transit, level, solar compass and attachment, 
clinometer, hand level, aneroid barometer, planimeter, etc., are taught 
in the class room, as are also the various methods in modern use of 
making land, topographical, hydrographical, mine, and city surveys. 
In topographical surveying, while all methods are taught and the con- 
ditions rendering one method more suitable than another, particular 
attention is paid to the transit and stadia, and the students become 
thoroughly familiar with this most generally suitable method. Dur- 
ing the first term daily practice in the adjustment and use of the 
various instruments before enumerated is given. Surveys of limited 
extent are executed, a meridian is established with the solar compass, 
checked b}^ stellar observations, and the magnetic declination of the 
needle determined. 

At the close of the year the class is taken into the field for four 
weeks, and makes a complete topographical survey of an area selected 
with reference to the diversity of problems it presents. This survey is 
also made to include hydrographic work, as the portion of the stream 
within the area chosen for work is mapped from soundings and its 
flow determined. 

GEODESY. 

Besides the course in astronomy, in which the students are taught 
to determine latitude, longitude, time, etc., from observations on the 
heavenly bodies, a brief course in geodetic surveying is given in the 
third year. The work includes the methods of measuring base lines, 
field work of triangulation, adjustment of triangles and quadrilaterals, 
and a discussion of the figure of the earth. 

HIGHV^AY ENGINEERING. 

During the third year there is given a course in highway engineer- 
ing, in which is discussed the location, construction, and maintenance 
of country roads and city streets, the advantages and disadvantages 
of the various paving materials, and specifications for each, and a study 
is made of the various road laws in force and their adequacy. A 
special course of fifteen lectures on the construction and maintenance 
of country roads is offered to persons of mature years, and is designed 
for road overseers and others having to do with this class of work, 
317G 32 



498 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

RAILROAD ENGINEERING. 

The subject of railroad engineering is begun in the third year with 
a theoretical course in railroad curves, turnouts and minor structures, 
and the staking out and computation of railway earthwork. The 
course also includes a discussion of the method of making railway 
location surveys, and a contour map is furnished the student on which 
he projects a location line and makes an estimate of materials and 
cost. This theoretical course is followed at the close of the year by 
four weeks of field practice in railroad surveying, during which a 
preliminary survey is made and mapped, a location projected and run 
in, the work staked out, quantities computed, and cost estimated. 
A line from 3 to 8 miles in length is usually located, and through the 
courtesy of railroad officials interested in the institute the classes not 
infrequently have an actually contemplated line to examine, which 
secures an interest and faithfulness not always obtained on a mere 
"practice" line. 

In the fourth year the subject generally known as economic theory 
of railroad location, embracing the items of train resistance and the 
effect of grades, curves, and length of line in operation is thoroughly 
studied, together with the, correlative subjects of economic construc- 
tion, maintenance of way, etc. Numerous problems are given to 
illustrate the subject, and a short thesis comparing two or more possi- 
ble locations for a line, the data for which are given, is written. The 
students also discuss in the light of the new knowledge the location 
made the previous year. In addition to the above, there is given in 
the fourth year a comiDrehensive series of lectures on railwaj'' signals, 
embracing the construction and operation of block signals and inter- 
locking signals for yards, crossings, etc. 

SUMMER COURSES. 

It is believed that the summer courses in surveying in the second 
and third years are particularly valuable on account of the continuous 
and practical character of the work. The student is employed all 
day for six days in the week, and the methods used both in the topo- 
graphical and railroad surveys embody the latest modern practice. 
The work is usually located in the Adirondack foothills, and forms 
the most enjoyable and healthful as well as valuable portion of the 
surveying instruction. These courses are open to a limited number 
of special students who show themselves competent to perform the 
work. 

TOPOGRAPHICAL DRAWING. 

Topographical drawing is taught in the first, second, and third 
years of the course. In the first year the student learns to make the 
various topographic symbols, both in pen and ink and in color. In 



BENSSELAEE POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE. 499 

the second year, in connection with the course in surveying, he maps 
small areas from notes furnished him, measures and computes the 
areas and draws contours, projects grades and computes volumes of 
earthwork involved in surface grading. He also makes the skeleton 
map of the summer survey. In the third year he completes this map 
and also makes in the field the map of the railroad survey. The use 
of the planimeter and the various diagrams for estimating areas and 
earthwork are taught. 

EATIONAL MECHANICS. 

At the conclusion of the course in integral calculus, during the first 
term of the third year, instruction in rational mechanics begins. In 
this course, which extends over a part of two terras with recitations 
and lectures every day, the fundamental theoretic principles of statics, 
cinematics, and dynamics which underlie and form the foundation of 
all branches of engineering are taught. The higher treatises and 
text-books, supplemented by notes, are used. The method of instruc- 
tion, which applies as well to the technical subjects in the depart- 
ment of mechanics as to the rational, is as follows: The class is 
divided into sections, and each section, after a combined lecture and 
thorough interrogation by the professor m charge, goes to the assistant 
for a recitation on certain selected parts of the subject. The assistant 
requires each student each day to put one of these articles on the 
blackboard and explain it. During this explanation he is interrogated 
upon the principles involved. 

STRUCTURES. 

The theory of structures is taught during the last term of the third 
year. This includes the equilibrium and stability of frames, chords, 
arches, buttresses, chimneys, abutments, piers, retaining walls, dams, 
etc. Analytical and graphical methods of treatment are elaborated. 
A treatise on masonry construction is also used as a text-book, and 
the strength, properties, and cost of cement, mortar, concrete, brick, 
and stone masonry, together with all the more important kinds of 
foundations, are considered. 

RESISTANCE OF MATERIALS. 

The elasticity and resistance of the materials of engineering are 
considered during the first term of the fourth year. The fundamental 
equations of the theory of flexure are first determined and applied to 
a consideration of the strength of simply supported and continuous 
beams and of columns. Practical formulae for the strength of beams 
are determined, and the right line long-column formula and those of 
Gordon and Euler are deduced. Attention is also paid to the graph- 
ical representation of the strength of columns. Theoretical formulae 



500 . HISTOEY OF HIGHEE EDUCATIOJS' IN NEW YOEK. 

for torsion are developed and applied to a consideration of the strength 
of shafting. The design of riveted joints for boiler and tnbe work is 
taken up and the proper size and pitch of rivets determined. 

In the practical part of the subject the coefficient of elasticity, elas- 
tic limit, ultimate resistance, and other properties of cast and wrought 
iron, malleableized iron, steel, bronze, copper, and other metals in 
tension, compression, and shear are studied, and the students are 
required to make experiments on the testing machine and determine 
their proi3erties as above outlined. The value of wood, stone, brick, 
etc. , for use as materials of engineering, is investigated, and each 
student also determines the strength of cement by the use of a cement- 
testing machine. Attention is paid to the fracture and appearance 
of metals, and also to the effect of repetition and reversal of stress. 

BRIDGES AND ROOFS. 

The course on bridges and roofs is given in the first and second 
terms of the fourth year. The first part is devoted to the theory of 
stresses. In this the student becomes familiar with the calculation of 
stresses in plate girders, in Howe, Pratt, Whipple, and lattice bridges, 
and in trusses with curved chords; also in cantalever, suspension, and 
draw bridges, and in various kinds of roof trusses. Analytical and 
graphical methods and the method of wheel concentrations and of panel 
loads are used. Details and connections are carefully considered and 
studied from the very large collection of blue prints of existing struc- 
tures of all kinds in possession of the institute. A set of bridge speci- 
fications forms a part of the course upon which recitations are required, 
and handbooks of bridge and iron works are used for reference. Dur- 
ing this course the class is taken out for an examination and comparison 
of various styles of bridges in the vicinity, and a bridge shop is also 
visited and the machines and methods of manufacture explained. 

The second part of the course in the second term is taken up with 
the design of bridges and parts of bridges. The student makes all 
the calculations and complete shop drawings of the work in hand, each 
bridge being different from the others, and tracings and blue prints 
are finally made. It is thus seen that the course is thoroughly prac- 
tical in its character. 

HYDRAULICS AND HYDRAULIC MOTORS. 

This subject is taught in the fourth year. It includes hydrology, 
hydrostatics, theoretical hydraulics, the flow of water through ori- 
fices, over weirs and dams, through tubes and pipes, and in conduits, 
canals, and rivers, the measurement and cost of water power, the 
dynamic pressure of flowing water, hydraulic motors, and the general 
principles of naval hydromechanics. IsTumerous examples illustrating 
the principles are given. In the direction of water-supply engineering 
there are considered general rainfall statistics, precipitation, evapo- 



EET^SSELAEE POLYTECHNIC IITSTITUTE. 501 

ration, the collection and storage of water, and its impurities, the 
practical construction of waterworks, including reservoir embank- 
ments, wasteweirs, partition walls, conduits, distributing sj^stems, 
and the various methods of filtering-. The delivery of water by- 
pumps is here touched upon, though this matter is more thoroughly 
treated in the course on the steam engine. The theory and efficiency 
of the various forms of water wheels are investigated, and the students 
are instructed with regard to the different kinds of turbines, with 
their draft tubes, diffusers, and governors. 

Students are required to measure the flow of adjacent streams by 
means of weirs, and thus practically to find the discharge. Practice 
in the measurement of the velocity of streams by means of current 
meters and floats is also given, and models of valves, motors, practical 
working turbines, etc., add value to the instruction. 

The subject of aerodynamics is also taken up in this course, and 
the flow of air through orifices, and in pipes, blowing engines, the 
relations between the velocity and the pressure of the wind, anemome- 
ters, windmills, etc., are studied. 

SEWERAGE SYSTEMS. 

The design of sewerage systems is taken up in the fourth year. 
A comparison of the cost and efficiency of the different systems is 
made and the conditions under which each should be used explained. 
The various methods of sewage disposal are exemplified and their 
efficiency discussed. The effect of the surface slope and magnitude 
of area drained in connection with the maximum rainfall is considered, 
and main and branch sewers for the separate and combined sj^stems 
are proportioned and their cost determined. The materials of con- 
struction, foundations required, methods of laying, and descriptions of 
details, such as branches, manholes, catch basins, etc., are also given. 

STEAM ENGINEERING. 

The course in steam engineering is given during the last term of 
the fourth year. It consists of a series of lectures by a well-known 
consulting mechanical engineer. The properties of steam are first 
elaborated and afterwards the details and construction of the various 
engines and boilers in ordinary use considered. The strength of 
their parts is calculated and their general operation explained. The 
course also includes pumping machinery. The lectures are illustrated 
by drawings, photographs, and handbooks, and books of reference 
are used for consultation. Each student makes a general design for 
a locomotive, pumping, marine, or other form of engine, though 
detailed drawings are not expected. He is also required to take indi- 
cator's diagrams from some engine and determine from them its 
power. Examinations of various forms of steam engines in the vicin- 
ity are also made under the direction of the instructor. 



502 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATIOlSr IN NEW YORK. 

THESES. 

A thesis on some teclmical subject must be written by each student 
during each summer vacation. 

A graduating thesis, which must be either a review of, or a design 
for, a machine, structure, plant, system, or process belonging to a 
department of scientific or practical technics, is also required. 

The annual register of the institute for 1893 contains the following 
clauses in relation to the conferring of degrees : 

DEGREES. 

The institute will confer the degree of civil engineer, or of bachelor 
of science upon all its future graduates who shall have completed 
the courses leading to such degrees, or to either of them. 

The conditions of conferring the degree are as follows: 

1. The candidate must have sustained a satisfactory examination 
in all the studies of the course in civil engineering or in that leading 
to the degree of bachelor of science. 

2. His thesis must have been approved by the faculty. 

3. He must have paid all dues to the institute. 

4. He must be of good moral character. 

BUILDINGS AND PROPERTY. 

The institute has at present six buildings in use for purposes of 
instruction — the main building, the Winslow Laboratory, the Ranken 
House, the astronomical observatory, the gymnasium, and the alumni 
building. 

The main building is 115 feet in length, 50 feet in breadth, and four 
stories in height. It contains lecture and recitation rooms, drawing 
rooms, and the laboratories of the department of physics. The main 
hall of the institution, where the reading of theses takes place, is also 
in this building. 

The Winslow Laboratory is 77 feet long, 45 feet wide, and three 
stories high. It is devoted to the department of chemistry. The first 
story contains rooms for quantitative analysis and special investiga- 
tions, and also the furnaces for the work in assaying. The second 
story contains the general laboratory for qualitative analysis and 
rooms for chemical balances and for the instructor in charge. The 
third story contains the general lecture hall, a recitation room, a room 
for the apj)aratus used in the lectures on general chemistry, and an 
office for the use of the instructors in the department. In this room 
there is a carefully selected special chemical library. 

The William Proud fit Observatory is an astronomical observatory 
consisting of a central part 40 feet square, with north, south, and 
east wings. It is 70 feet long and 60 feet in depth. It is well 
equipped with instruments for use in engineering instruction, con- 




RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE— GYMNASIUM. 



EENSSELAEK POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE. 503 

tainmg a transit instrument, clironometer, chronograph, clocks, and 
sextant. 

The Ranken House is 40 feet square and two stories in height. It 
is used as a mechanical laboratory, and contains machines for the 
testing of the various metals and of cement, stone, wood, etc. 

The gymnasium is 80 feet long, 44 feet wide, and two stories high. 
The first story contains bowling alleys, sponge and shower baths, a 
dressing room, and a reception room. The whole of the second story, 
30 feet in height, is taken up by the gymnasium proper, which has a 
gallery with a racing track, and is fitted up with the best patterns of 
Dr. Sargent's gymnastic apparatus. 

The alumni building is about 50 feet square and three stories in 
height. It is fireproof throughout, having concrete floors and brick 
partition walls. The first floor contains the library, a room for the 
trustees and the transaction of general executive business and one 
for the office of the director. The second and third floors contain 
the geological, mineralogical, and general natural history collections. 
There is also a lecture room for the professor of geology on the second 
floor. 

THE LIBRARY. 

The library, located on the first floor of the new fireproof alumni 
building, is strictly technical in its character. It consists of about 
5,000 volumes and a large number of pamphlets and maps, and con- 
tains many valuable scientific works, including the publications of 
foreign and American societies, and bound volumes of various tech- 
nical journals. The professional library of the late Alexander L. 
HoUey was bequeathed by him to the institution and forms a part of 
its collection. The books and pamphlets are accessible to all mem- 
bers of the institute, and the reading room attached contains the cur- 
rent numbers of all the more valuable scientific publications of this 
and other countries. 

The institution possesses valuable collections of drawings, models, 
instruments, an.d machines for purposes of illustration and instruc- 
tion in its various departments. The total value of its property is 
estimated at 1350,000. 

ITS GRADUATES. 

The importance of this institution in the educational history of the 
country is well known. This is due not only to the methods of 
instruction and the high standard of scholarship required, but also to 
the splendid work of its graduates as engineers and teachers of sci- 
ence. In a pamphlet published in 1892, entitled A Partial Record of 
the Work of Graduates of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, are 
given the names of 33 presidents, 121 vice-presidents, managers, and 
superintendents, and 69 chief engineers of railroad companies, steel 
and iron works, bridge companies, waterworks, electric companies, 
mining companies, sewerage systems, canals, etc., who have graduated 



504 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

at the school; also of 5 State geologists and 56 professors who have 
been connected with most of the great educational institutions of the 
country. The pamphlet also shows that the graduates of the school 
have been connected as designers and constructors with nearly all the 
larger bridge companies and great bridges in the country, and that 
they have in responsible positions helped to build and equij) 109,000 
miles of the railroad systems of North America, besides many miles in 
other quarters of the globe. One hundred and ninety of the grad- 
uates of the school have become members of the American Society of 
Civil Engineers. It received at the Paris Exposition of 1889 the only 
grand prize given to engineering schools of the United States. 

That it is widely known as a school of science may be inferred from 
the residences of its students, who have come from all parts of the 
world. 

Including the class of 1893 there have been 1,093 graduates, of whom 
837 are alive and 256 are dead. Nine hundred and forty-seven 
received the degree of civil engineer (C. E.). The graduates are 
practicing their professions in 47 of the States and Territories of the 
United States and in 18 foreign countries. 

Besides the General Alumni Association of the Institute there are 
associations of graduates in Pittsburg, Kansas City, Chicago, and 
New York. 

The annual register for 1893 contains the names of 18 professors 
and instructors, 8 lecturers, and 206 students. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

The laws of the State of New York for the years 1826, 1832, 1833, 1835, 1837, 1850, 
1851, 1861, 1863, 1864, 1866, 1868, and 1871 contain provisions relating to 
the school. 

Prospectus entitled Preparation Branch Recently Established at Rensselaer School, 
and dated September 14, 1826. 

Prospectus entitled Notices of Rensselaer Institute, and dated October 15, 1835. 

The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Its Reorganization in 1849-50; its Condition 
at the Present Time; its Plans and Hopes for the Future, by B. Franklin 
Greene, was published in 1856. 8vo pamphlet, 87 pp. 

Papers relating to the Organization of the Association of Graduates, Troy, N. Y., 
June 22-23, 1869. 8vo pamphlet, 24 pp. 

Proceedings of the Semicentennial Celebration of the Rensselaer Polytechnic 
Institute, Troy, N. Y., held June 14-18, 1874. 8vo pamphlet, 139 pp. 

History of the Winslow Laboratory and the Cabinets of Mineralogy and Geology, 
Troy, N. Y., 1874. 8vo pamphlet, 13 pp. 

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N. Y. Meeting of Alumni in New York, 
February 18, 1881. 8vo pamphlet, 30 pp. 

Biographical Record of the Officers and Graduates of the Rensselaer Polytechnic 
Institute, 1824-1886, by Henry B. Nason. 8vo. 614 pp. 

A Partial Record of the Work of Graduates of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Insti- 
tute, Troy, N. Y., 1892. 8vo pamphlet, 27 pp. 

The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N. Y., founded 1834. Handbook of 
Information. 8vo pamphlet, 23 pp. 

Annual registers of the institute from the foundation of the school to 1893. 



SPECIAL SCHOOLS. 505 

POPULAR COLLEGES AND SUMMER SCHOOLS. 

Peculiar work of a technical or a popular character, done by such 
institutions as Cooper Union in New York, Pratt Institute in 
Brookljm, Chautauqua University, and the Catholic Summer School 
of America, valuable as it is, does not properly belong within the 
limits of this history, although the above institutions are colleges 
incorporated under the laws of the State of New York. They are doing 
work which falls in with the university-extension movement, as lead- 
ing to a wider opportunity for higher education to the people at large. 
The real history of this large movement is yet to make, and such begin- 
nings as can be attributed to these institutions have been often de- 
scribed in pamphlets and articles easily accessible. Reference is 
specially made to the following list of publications : 

"The history of summer schools in the United States," by W. W. Willoughby, 
Ph. D. Published as chapter 29 of the Report of the United States Commissioner 
of Education for 1891-92. 



COOPEE UNION. 

Hough, F. B. Historical and Statistical Records of the University of the State 
of New York, 1784-1884. Albany, 1885. This sketch has peculiar interest as giv. 
ing an account of the conferring of the degree of LL. D. upon Peter Cooper, on 
February 12, 1878, his eighty-ninth birthday. 

Laws of New York, 1857, chap. 31. " Incorporation of the Peter Cooper Union 
for the Advancement of Science and Art. " 

Laws of New York, 1859, chap. 379, amending above. Pamphlet, "Charter, 
Trust Deed, and By-laws of the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science 
and Art; with the letter of Peter Cooper accompanying the trust deed." New 
York, 1881. 

This pamphlet contains also the by-laws and regulations of the institution. 

Address of the graduates and pupils to Peter Cooper, esq., and his reply at the 
annual commencement, May 31, 1871. New York, 1871. 

Annual Report of the Trustees. The thirty-ninth report is dated May, 1898. 

" Regents' Report for 18S9." P. 592 has interesting summary of the financial 
statements of- the institution. 

CHAUTAUQUA. 

Chautauqua Assembly Herald. 

See University of the State of New York. Extension bulletin 9. (Summer 
schools. ) ' 

Noble, F. P. Chautauqua as a new factor in American life. New England 
Magazine n. s, 2: 90. 

Thorpe, F. N. Chautauqua life in 1800. Chant. 9: 528. 

Flood, T. L. Old Chautauqua Day. Chant. 13: 561. 

Prof. Herbert B. Adams. Chautauqua. Report of United States Commissioner 
of Education for 1894-95. Chapter 19. Comprises 100 pages and includes an 
account of the " Catholic Chautauqua," the Catholic Summer School. 

PRATT INSTITUTE. 

Campbell, J. R. Pratt Institute. Century 46: 870. 
Hale, E. E. Pratt Institute. Cosmopolitan 7: 99. 
Regent's report, 1895. pp. 467-492. 

CATHOLIC SUMMER SCHOOL. 

Catholic Reading Circle Review. 



CHAPTER 8. 

SECONDARY SCHOOLS COMPRISED IN THE UNIVERSITY. 

The secondary schools of New York, outside of the purely private 
schools, are divided into three classes — academies, high schools, and 
academic departments of union schools. They are designed to cover 
the four years of work preparatory to admission to the first year of 
college. Although touching at several points the work under the 
direction of the department of public instruction, notably in the aca- 
demic departments of union schools, yet they are kept under the 
supervision and control of the regents. Much of the most effective 
work of the regents has been in securing greater uniformity and 
higher standards of work in the academies. The number of these 
institutions is so great that detailed account is here impossible, 
although several of the academies date from the last century and 
have a history at once interesting and instructive. A detailed account 
of these academies will be found in Dr. Hough's Historical and Sta- 
tistical Record of the University of the State of New York, already 
referred to, chapter 27. Chapters 11 to 26, inclusive, of that work 
are likewise devoted to the academies. 

In June, 1897, there were a total of 584 of these secondary schools 
in the State. They were attended by over 53,000 scholars and had a 
total of 3,291 teachers, of whom 2,256 were women. The 465 high 
schools and academic departments, which are public institutions, had 
a net property of $7,667,883.30, and expended $1,892,960.16 for the 
year, while the 119 academies, which are incorporated, show a net 
property of $15,493,518.70, with expenses for the year of $1,391,286.02. 

The following extracts from the report of Secretary Melvil Dewey 
to the regents for 1897 will be found interesting: 

ACADEMIES AND HIGH SCHOOLS. 

In 1896, the last year for which the statistics are available, 600,000 pnpils pur- 
suing secondary studies were reported to the United States Bureau of Education, 
nearly seven-eighths of the whole number being in public and private high schools, 
the remainder in normal schools, academic departments of colleges, etc. There 
are now in the high schools and academies of New York State 53,464 students, or 
about one-eleventh of the whole number in the United States. Of these 82 per 
cent are in our high schools, while the whole United States shows 78 per cent of 
the entire number taking the public-school course. The number of public high 
schools in the United States in 1896 was 4,974—421, or more than one-twelfth, being 
in New York. The growth in one year for the whole country was 262 schools, of 
which one-fifth was in New York, whose high schools increased from 371 to 421. 
506 



SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 



507 



During the year ending June 30, 1897, the high schools in our State reached the 
number 465, and there were 119 academies, making a total of 584. 

Including the additions up to the time this report goes to press, there are in this 
State 611 high schools and academies, or about 1 to every 10,000 population. For 
comparison with another of the States of the Union, we note that Ohio, with 
4,000,000 population, reports 558 public high schools and 56 private, a total of 614, 
or about 1 to every 8,000 population. 

NUMBER OF STUDENTS IN ACADEMIES AND HIGH SCHOOLS, 1893 AND 1897. 

The following table shows the number of students in 1892 compared 

with that in 1897 : 

Comparative siLinmai^y of students. 





High, schools. 


Academies. 


Total in 


Year. 


Boys. 


Girls. 


Total. 


Boys. 


Girls. 


Total. 


ary 

schools. 


1897 -- 


19,594 
13,055 


34,323 
16,304 


43,916 
38,359 


4,653 
5,035 


4,895 
5,615 


■ 9,548 
10,650 


53,464 
39,009 


1893 --- 




Increase (+) or decrease (— ), 
1897 


+7,539 
+ 63 


+8,018 
+ 49 


+15,557 
+ 55 


—383 
— 8 


—720 
— 13 


-1, 103 
— 10 


+14 455 




+ 37 







The list of the academies which follows is taken from the regents' 
report for the year ending June 30, 1896, and shows 128 institutions: 

Academies of the University of the State of Neiv York. 
[L. — Legislature; all others incorporated or admitted by regents.] 



No. 



Name. 



City or village and county. 



Incorporated or 
admitted. 



By- 



Date. 



Academy of Mount St. Vincent 

Academy of Notre Dame 

Academy of Sacred Heart 

Adams Collegiate Institute 

Adelphi Academy 

Albany Academy. 

Albany Female Academy — 

Alfred University, academic de- 
partment. 

A. M. Chesbrough Seminary 

Augustinian Institute --. 

Berkeley Institute for Young La- 
dies. 

Bridgehampton Literary and Com- 
mercial Institute. 

Bulfalo Seminary 

Canandaigua Academy 

Canisteo Academy 

Gary Collegiate Seminary - - . 

Cascadilla School 

Cathedral Academy of City of Al- 
bany. 

Cay uga Lake Academy 

Cazenovia Seminary 

Chamberlain Institute _ 

Champlain Institute 

Charbonneau Institute 

Christian Brothers' Academy 

Cincinnatus Academy 

Clifton Springs Female Seminary. 

Clinton Liberal Institute 

Colgate Academy 

Cook Academy _ 

De Lancey School 

Delaware Academy -. 

Delaware Literary Institute 

De Veaux School 

D You ville Academy - — 

East Springfield Academy 

Evans Academy _ 

Fairfield Seminary 



New York 

Albany 

Syracuse, Onondaga 

Adams, Jefferson 

Brooklyn, Kings 

Albany 

Albany 

Alfred, Allegany 



North Chili, Monroe . 
Carthage, Jefferson.. 
Brooklyn, Kings 



Bridgehampton, Suffolk. 



Buffalo, Erie 

Canandaigua, Ontario . 

Canisteo, Steuben 

Oakfield. Genesee 

Ithaca, Tompkins 

Albany 



Jan. 36,1849 
Feb. 16,1885 
Jan. 9, 1889 
Apr. 13, 1855 
Aug. 3.1869 
Mar. 4,1813 
Feb. 16,1831 
Jan. 31,1843 

Jan. 14,1869 

Nov. 31,1895 
Apr. 13, 1886 

Nov. 33, 1875 

Oct. 14,1851 
May 4,1795 
Mar. 16,1868 
May 16,1845 
Dec. 13,1893 
Dec. 14,1893 



Aurora, Cayuga 

Cazenovia, Madison 

Randolph, Cattaraugus.. 

Port Henry, Essex 

Rouse Point, Clinton , 

Albany 

Cincinnatus, Cortland 

Clifton Springs, Outario. 
Fort Plain, Montgomery , 

Hamilton, Madison 

Montour Falls, Schuyler- 
Geneva, Ontario 

Delhi, Delaware 

Franklin, Delaware 

Niagara Palls, Niagara . . 

Plattsburg, Clinton . 

East Springfield, Otsego. 

Peterboro, Madison 

Fairfield, Herkimer 



L. 



Mar. 
Apr. 
Jan. 
Feb. 
June 
Aug. 
Apr. 
May 
Apr. 
June 
Aug. 
Dec. 
Feb. 
Apr. 
Apr. 
Dec. 
July 
Jan. 
Mar. 



33,1801 

6, 1825 

24,1851 

8,1894 

36,1895 

3, 1869 

31,1857 

11, 1868 

39, 1834 

17,1853 

7.1873 

7,1887 

3, 1830 

33,1835 

15, 1853 

14^1893 

13, 1880 

38,18.53 

15,1803 



508 



HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IK NEW YOEK. 



Academies of the University of the State of New York — Continued. 



Name. 



City or village and county. 



Incorporated or 
admitted. 



By- 



Date. 



Female Academy of Sacred Heart 
Female Academy of Sacred Heart 
Female Academy of Sacred Heart 
Female Institute of the Visitation 

Flushing Institute 

Fort Edward Collegiate Institute 

Genesee Wesleyan Seminary 

Glens Falls Academy _.- 

Greenville Academy 

Hartwick Seminary, academic de- 
partment. 

Hebrew Technical Institute 

Hogansburg Academy 

Holy Angels' Academy _ 

Houghton Seminary 

Hudson River Institute 

Institute of the Sisters of St. Joseph 

Ives Seminary 

Keuka Institute 

Lansingburg Academy 

La Salle Academy 

La Salle Institute 

Lowville Academy 

Mc Anley Academy 

Macedon Academy 

Marion Collegiate Institute 

Mount Beacon Academy Associa- 
tion. 

Mount Pleasant Academy 

Mount St, Marys Academy _. 

Munroe Collegiate Institute 

Nazareth Academy _ 

New Tork Military Academy 

Oakwood Seminary -__ 

Oxford Academy 

Packer Collegiate Institute 

Peekskill Academy 

Pike Seminary _ 

Polytechnic Institute, Brooklyn, 
academic department. 

Pratt Institute High School 

Rensselaer villa Academy . . _ , 

Round Lake Summer Institute. __ 

St. Agnes Female Seminary 

St. Ann's Academic School 

St. Austin's School 

St. Bernard's Academy 

St. Elizabeth's Academy 

St. Faith's School... 

St. Francis Xavier's Academic 
School. 

St. Gabriel's School 

St. Joachim's Academic Institute 

St. John's Academic School 

St. John's Academy 

St. John's Catholic Academy 

St. J ohn 's Military School 

St. Joseph's Academic School 

St. Joseph 's Academy _ . 

St. Joseph's Academy 

St. Joseph's Academy 

St. Joseph's Academy 1., 

St. Joseph's Academy and Indus- 
trial Female School. 

St. Margaret's School _ _ 

St. Mary's Academic School 

St. Mary's Academic School 

St. Mary's Academy. 

St. Mary's Academy and Indus- 
trial Female School. 

St. Mary's Catholic Institute 

St. Patrick's Academy 

St. Peter's Academy 

St. Peter's Academy.. 

St. Philomena's Academic School 
St. Stanislaus Academic School... 

St. Teresa's Ursuline Academy 

St. Thomas Aquinas's Academy 

Seymour Smith Academy 

Sherman Collegiate Institute 

Sodus Academy. 

Starkey Seminary 

Staten Island Academy 



Kenwood, Albany 

New York 

Rochester, Monroe 

Brooklyn, Kings 

Flushing, Qiieens 

Fort Edward, Washington. . . 

Lima, Livingston 

Glens falls, Warren 

Greenville, Greene 

Hartwick Seminary, Otsego . 



New York 

Hogansburg, Franklin. 

Buffalo, Erie 

Clinton, Oneida 

Claverack, Columbia. 

Buffalo, Erie 

Antwerp, Jefferson 

Keuka College, Yates 

Lansingburg, Rensselaer 

New York - 

Troy, Rennselaer 

Lowville, Lewis - 

Keeseville, Clinton 

Macedon Center, Wayne 

Marion, Wayne 

Fishkill on Hudson, Dutchess . 



L. 



L. 



L. 



Sing Sing, Westchester 

Newburg, Orange.. 

Elbridge, Onondaga 

Rochester, Monroe 

Cornwall on Hudson, Orange 

Union Springs, Cayuga 

Oxford, Chenango 

Brooklyn, Kings 

Peekskill, Westchester 

Pike, Wyoming,. 

Brooklyn, Kings 



.do. 



Rensselaer ville, Albany 

Round Lake, Saratoga 

Brooklyn, Kings 

Hornellsville, Steuben 

New Brighton, Richmond .. 

Cohoes, Albany 

Allegany, Cattaraugus 

Saratoga Springs, Saratoga 
Brooklyn, Kings 



L. 



New York 

Water town, Jefferson 

Greenbush, Rensselaer , 

Albany 

Syracuse, Onondaga 

Manlius, Onondaga .„ 

Binghamton, Bi'oome 

Albany. 

Brasher Falls, St. Lawrence. 

Flushing, Queens 

Troy, Rensselaer 

Lockport, Niagara 



Buffalo, Erie. 

Dunkirk, Chautauqua 

Hoosiek Falls, Rens.selaer .. 
Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence . 
Buffalo, Erie 



Amsterdam, Montgomery . 

Catskill, Greene 

Rome, Oneida . 

Troy, Rensselaer.. 

Brushton, Franklin 

Keeseville, Clinton 

New York... 

Brooklyn, Kings 

Pine Plains, Dutchess 

Moriah, Essex 

Sodus, Wayne 

Eddy town, Yates 

New Brighton, Richmond . 



L. 



Mar. 
July 
Apr. 
Apr, 
Apr. 
July 
Apr. 
Jan. 
Feb. 
Aug. 

Jan. 
Jan. 
Feb. 
Jan. 
Apr. 
Dec. 
Feb. 
Dec. 
Feb. 
June 
July 
Mar. 
Dec. 
Apr. 
July 
May 

Mar. 
July 
Apr. 
Dec. 
May 
Jan. 
July 
May 
Apr. 
Feb. 
Apr. 



19,1861 
9,18.51 
15,1858 
17,1863 
16, 1837 
8,18.54 
30, 1833 
25, 1843 
26,1816 
13,1816 

10,1884 

9. 1889 
13,1865 
13,1881 
35, 1831 
14, 1893 

1, 1856 
10, 1890 

8, 1796 
24, 1896 

7,1891 
21, 1808 

9,1891 
11,1843 

6, 1855 
31, 1885 

24,1820 
5,1887 

23,1839 
9,1891 

1. 1890 
13, 1860 
27,1794 

8,1845 

16,1838 

1,18.56 

7,18.34 



Feb. 8,1894 
Jan. 30,1845 
Jan. 10,1889 
Feb. 38,1895 
June 6,1894 
Mar. 13, 1886 
Dec. 10,1890 
June 26, 1895 
June 21, 1893 
June 36, 1895 

Feb. 8,1894 

do 

Nov. 21,lo95 
June 24, 1896 
Dec. 7,1887 
June 6,1881 
June 5, 1894 
Feb. 11, 1892 
Dec. 9,1891 
Aug. 27, 1860 
June 24, 1896 
Feb. 19, 1866 

Jan. 7, 1885 
Feb. 8, 1894 
Dec. 13, 1894 
Dec. 10, 1890 
Apr. 29, 

July 10, 1883 
Feb. 11, 1892 
Dec. 13, 1883 
Jan. 9, 1889 
Dec. 12, 1894 
Feb. 28,1895 
June 24, 1896 
Mar. 19, 1896 
Apr. 31, 1874 
Feb. 16, 1841 
Jan. 11, 1855 
Feb. 35, 1848 
Jan. 7,1885 



SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 



509 





Academies of the University of the State of Neio For/f— Continued. 


No. 


Name. 


City or village and county. 


Incorporated or 
admitted. 




By- 


Date. 


115 


Syrian Protestant College, Aca- 
demic Department. 
Temple Grove Seminary 


Beirut, Svria __ 


L. 

" lV" 

L. 
L. 
L. 
L. 
L. 


May 4, 1864 

.TiiTio i IRfiQ 


116 


Saratoga Springs, Saratoga ,. 

Franklinville, Cattaraugus 

New York 


117 

IIS 


Ten Broeck Free Academy 

Trinity School 


Apr. 19, 1862 
Mar. 14, 1806 
May 5, 1834 
May 6. 1837 
Apr. 13, 1836 
Apr. 13, 1868 
Dec. 9, 1891 


11't 






T'O 


Troy Female Seminary 


do- ._ 


131 


Union Academy of Belleville 


Belleville, Jefferson , 

Bedford Park, New York 


1"3 


Utica Catholic Academy . _ 

Utica Female Academy . _ 


Utica, Oneida 


I'M 


do 


L. 
L. 

L. 


Apr. 28, 1837 
July 30, 1886 

May 13, 1841 
June 34, 1896 


T"! 


Wagner Memorial Lutheran Col- 
lege. 

Walworth Academy 

Westerleigh Collegiate Institute . . 


Rochester, Monroe 


1^6 


Walworth, Wayne 


V>7 


West New Brighton, Richmond 


TW 


Angelica, Allegany 




June 13 1881 













There were tliat year 421 high schools and academic departments, as 
against 465 in 1897, scattered, of course, throughout all the counties 
of the State. One county, however, Hamilton, lying in the Adiron- 
dack region, has no institution of secondary education. 

SUMMARY OF THE INSTITUTIONS OF THE UNIVERSITY. 

On January 1, 1898, the number and location of institutions com- 
prised in the University of the State of New York were as follows : 



Institutions in the university. 



Num- 
ber 
Janu- 
ary 1, 

1898. 



Students 1896-97. 



Men. Women. 



Universities and colleges of liberal arts: 

For men. - 

For women. - - 

For men and women 



Total. 



3,331 
1,717 



3,217 

853 



5,050 



3,078 



Professional and technical schools: 

Law - 

Medicine 

Dentistry 

Veterinary medicine 

Pharmacy ._ — 

Theology -.- 

Education of teachers 

Education of librarians 

Music .-_ - - 

Other 



1,999 

3,790 

499 

119 

633 

757 

198 

5 

155 

5,733 



43 

335 

13 



31 
15 

913 

28 

515 

4,349 



Total. 



71 



13,877 



6,030 



Academies: 

Academies (incorporated) . 
Senior academic schools... 
Middle academic schools. .- 
.Junior academic schools... 



3,825 
208 
122 



4,330 
40 
157 



Total - 



123 



4, 653 



4,895 



High schools: 

High schools 

Senior schools . . . 
Middle schools . . . 
Junior schools... 
Special schools a . 



353 
25 
50 

159 
3 



15,515 



974 
3.138 



19,316 
1,149 
1,372 

2,499 



Total 

Grand total students. 



24,333 



643,146 



38,335 



81,471 



510 



HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 



Institutions for home edti cation: Number. 

Institutes. _ 3 

Libraries (incorporated or admitted).. ._ 135 

Registered libraries c _ 48 

Museums... _ 3 

Extension teaching centers H 

Summer schools 3 

Study clubs 186 

Total.. _ __ .- _ 430 

Grand total all institutions 1,136 

a New York institution for the blind and New York State school for the blind. 
b Not including 38 diiplicates. 
c Including branches. 

Location of institutions in university by counties, June SO, 1897, 



County. 



High 
schools. 



Acade- 
mies. 



Colleges. 



Profes- 
sional 
and tech- 
nical 
schools. 



Libraries. 



Univer- 
sity of 
the State 
of New 
York. 



Not in 
Univer- 
sity of 
the State 
of New 
York. 



Albany 

Allegany 

Broome 

Cattaraugus. 

Cayuga 

Chautauqua . 

Chemung 

Chenango 

Clinton 

Columbia 

Cortland 

Delaware 

Dutchess 

Erie... 

Essex 

Franklin 

Pulton 

Genesee 

Greene 

Hamilton 

Herkimer 

Jeff ei'son 

Kings 

Lewis. 

Livingston... 

Madison 

Monroe 

Montgomery 
New York ... 

Niagara 

Oneida _ 

Onondaga 

Ontario 

Orange 

Orleans 



Otsego 

Putnam 

Queens 

Rensselaer 

Richmond 

Rockland 

St. Lawrence. 

Saratoga 

Schenectady.. 

Schoharie 

Schuyler 

Seneca. 

Steuben 

Suffolk. 

Sullivan 

Tioga 

Tompkins 

Ulster 

Warren. 

Washington . . 



3 
7 
9 
3 
131 
3 

11 
7 
4 

14 
4 
6 
2 
3 

20 

13 



SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 511 

Location of institutions in university by counties, June 30, 1S07 — Continued. 





High 
schools. 


Acade- 
mies. 


Colleges. 


Profes- 
sional 
and tech- 
nical 
schools. 


Libraries. 




County. 


Univer- 
sity of 
the State 
of New 
York. 


Not in 
Univer- 
sity of 
the State 
of New 
York. 


Total. 




9 
9 
8 
3 


5 
2 

1 
3 








1 

30 
3 


15 








7 


48 


Wyoming 






13 


Yates .- .-- 






1 


6 


Foreign countries: 


3 

1 
1 
1 






2 














1 


Syria.- 




1 


2 






4 










1 

















The map given on another page indicates the location of these insti- 
tutions graphically. It is taken from the report of the secretary of 
the university for 1897. 



APPENDIX„ 



ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT. OF THE NEW YORK COMMON 
SCHOOL SYSTEM.' 

Mr. President and ladies and gentlemen of the New York State Teachers' 
Association, if we are loyal sons and daughters of the Empire State, we know 
what are commonly considered the leading facts in her history. We can recount 
the chief and prominent incidents in her first settlement, and her wonderful 
development from the time when the Half Moon first stirred the waters of her 
majestic North River till she came to stand out as the central and conspicuous 
figure in the sisterhood of States. We have wondered at the daring and sighed 
at the fate of the dauntless English captain with a Queen Elizabeth ruff about 
his neck, who sailed his little Dutch vessel through the Narrows at our great 
harbor, onl}^ to be disappointed in his confident belief that he had at last foiind 
the great highway of the nations to the Indies, and to find himself in an imperial 
fresh- water river, flowing through what he described as " a land peopled by vig- 
orous men and beautiful women — as beautiful a land as the foot of man can tread 
upon." 

We have regretted that a noble company of English Puritans, bound for New 
Netherland in the Mayflower, -were carried out of their course and landed upon 
the inhospitable shores of Cape Cod. Oh, how much New England owes to ill 
winds or bad seamanship! We have noted and commended the foresight and 
thrift which led the first Dutch settlers to buy 22,000 acres of land upon Man- 
hattan Island from the Indians for the not extravagant sum of twenty-four dol- 
lars, and to lay the foundations of a State upon land in which they owned the fee. 
We have marked the different characteristics of the Dutch and the English as 
first one and then the other held the supremacy in the affairs of the colony. We 
have stood amazed in the presence of the fact that before and for many years 
after the coming of the whites there were upon this territory five savage nations 
with a system of laws and a retinue of officials, each with a completely organized 
government shaped and directed by the will of the majority, and all confederated 
together in a barbarian republic upon the unique plan afterwards adopted by our 
States and our National Republic. 

We have followed in awe the unprecedented advance in population, the growth 
of the most imperial cities, the development of material resources apparently 
inexhaustible. We have witnessed the building of the greatest canal and railway 
systems, and have watched to a successful result the most gigantic commercial 
enterprises that human energy ever had the courage to undertake. We have seen 
literature and the arts and sciences nurtured and fostered by a people engrossed 
in the world's most bewildering activities. We have applauded the sagacity of 
our statesmen, and we have gloried in the immortal deeds of our heroes. We 

1 An address delivered before the New York State Teachers' Association, at Saratoga Springs, 
N. Y., Tuesday evening, July 8, 1890, by Andrew S. Draper, superintendent of public instruction, 
State of New York. 
512 



THE COMMON-SCHOOL SYSTEM. 513 

have listened to the discussions of the earliest Colonial Congresses to form a basis 
of union at Albany, and we have heard the first constitution promulgated from 
the head of a barrel in front of the old senate house at Kingston. We know how 
intrepid Ethan Allen, in the gray dawn of a May morning, demanded and received 
from the British commander in undress uniform the surrender of Ticonderoga 
'•in the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress," when as yet 
the Congress had no existence: and how Mad Anthony Wayne, in reply to Wash- 
ington's inquiry as to whether he would lead an attack on Stony Point, answered 
with the ardor of an enthusiast and the instinct of the soldier that he was— "I 
would lead an attack on hell if the commander in chief would order it, sir." 

Our hearts have throbbed heavily as we have read the story of the heroic and 
successful life struggle of Herkimer's thin battalions in the valley of the Mohawk 
and of Sullivan's sanguinary campaign against hostile savages in the Genesee 
country. The blood has tingled as we have heard the victorious cannon and wit- 
nessed the humiliating surrender of the haughty Burgoyne at Saratoga, and we 
have held our breath as Macdonough assembled his crew about him, knelt in 
prayer on the quarter-deck of his flagship, and asked the aid of the Almighty on 
the ensuing action before his navy thrashed a superior force on Lake Champlain, 
while the army paid a similar compliment to Wellington's veterans, fresh from 
the field of Waterloo and almost disdaining to fight plain people, at Plattsburg. 

We know how New York stood for independence, for the Federal Constitution, 
and the '-more perfect union,' in the first instance, and how she contributed one- 
eighth of her population, one-fifth of the entire force which went out to save that 
Union when assailed. We honor the names of Van Rensselaer and Stuyvesant 
and Schuyler and Cadwallader Colden and Richard Montgomery and the Living- 
stons and the Jays and Hamilton and Gouverneur Morris and the Clintons and 
Daniel D. Tompkins and Washington Irving and Fenimore Cooper and James 
Kent and Chancellor Walworth and Samuel Nelson and Silas Wright and Marcy 
and Van Buren and John A. Dix and a host of others, for we associate them with 
the circumstances which mark the growth and make the history of the great 
Commonwealth. In short, we have a general knowledge of the leading facts 
which stand out more prominently than the ordinary facts in the course of the 
physical and political development of the State. 

INTELLECTUAL ADVANCEMENT. 

But 1 venture that we are exceptional even among the loyal sons and daughters 
of the Empire State if we have investigated the causes which have promoted or if 
we know the events which have marked the social and intellectual advancement 
of the people of New York. If this is so, it is not strange. In the economy of 
statecraft, as in the experience of the schools, it is the phj'sical object which 
arrests the attention, and it is the object lesson which excites interest, arouses 
enthusiasm, and leaves the deepest impressions upon the mind. Railways and 
steamships, merchandise and machinery, books and newspapers, great cities, pab- 
lic woi'ks and munificent charities, all the institutions which support a free State 
and the temple of liberty are but the public and visible manifestation of wide- 
spread mental and moral development. May we not to-night undertake to look 
through these visible objects and endeavor to discern the reason of them? May 
we not try to ascertain the leading influence behind these familiar and invaluable 
things and profitably to inquire into the causes which set this influence in opera- 
tion and the results which it in turn has produced? 

Circiimstances have scarcely favored this unprecedented development in state- 
hood. The foundations of New York were laid by a rude people in an unbroken 
wilderness overrun by barbarians and savages. The, struggle for bread was a 
hard one. Yet these people offered asylum and succor to the oppressed and heart- 
3176 33 



514 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YOEK. 

sore of all nations. The response was overwhelming. But all kinds, the best and 
the worst, came together. With the honest man. seeking the rights of conscience 
and the opportunity of improvement, which were denied him in the Old World, 
came the adventurer and the scapegrace. We have always held the greatest port 
of entry in the country, and the overwhelming and oft-polluted tide of immigra- 
tion has always surged into or across our territory. The accumulation of many 
people in gi-eat communities always presents many and difficult social and indus- 
trial problems. Yet who shall say that the 6,000,000 of people of the Empire 
State are, all classes together, less generally informed, less keenly and alertly 
intelligent, than any other 6,000.000 of people on the globe? Again, who shall say 
that these 6,000,000 of people are not better housed, better fed, better clothed, 
more generally educated, more active in affairs, better equipped for self-govern- 
ment, than any other entire people numbering 6.000.000. unless it be other citi- 
zens of our own country, surrounded by the same circumstances and conditions? 
This is the result of intellectual force and of mental strength widely spread and 
generally diffused. The fact that it reaches all classes is its chief glory. It 
extends not only to the manager of a railway, but to the man who runs the train 
or walks the track. Commonly both have enjoyed equal opportunities, and stand 
in different grades of the service only because of qualities which inhere in differ- 
ent individuals and which no policy of the State can regulate. As often as other- 
wise the man at the top suffered the greatest hardships, labored against the 
greatest disadvantages, and had the poorest chance. But both are alert within 
their sphere. Each is industrious and aggressive. Each reads the papers, dis- 
cusses the tariff, and g03s to the legislature. Each owns a home, supports a 
church, and mingles in affairs. Each constitutes the right kind of material out 
of which to erect a free State. If there is to be discrimination at all, it must be 
in favor of the masses fairly developed rather than of the few exceptionally intel- 
lectual or unusually prominent, 

COMMON SCHOOLS PROMOTE GENERAL INTELLIGENCE. 

What is the prominent and conspicuous influence which has led to this general 
enlightenment of the people? It is not leadership, except as leadership planned 
wisely in the beginning. It is not due to favoring circumstances; it is in spite of 
unfavorable ones. It is not due to the development of physical and material 
resources. That would be misplacing cause and effect. It is not the work of the 
university, unless it be indirectly and remotely. The common history of New 
York unmistakably shows that this widespread intelligence among her people was 
not manifest until the State placed common schools within easy distance of every 
home, and that from the time when this policy was well established her career 
has been practically unparalleled in the history of States. 

QUALITIES OF FIRST DUTCH IMMIGRANTS. 

Let us then spend an hour in investigating the rise and tracing the progress of 
the State public school system. 

When America was first settled Eiirope was just emerging from the gloom of 
the " Middle Ages." The prerogatives of kings were being called in question, and 
the walled castle and the mailed knight were surely doomed. Commercial enter- 
prise was beginning to show itself, industry was becoming honorable, learning 
was claiming some attention. Society, which had been prostrate for centuries 
before the feudal lord, was getting upon its feet again. Nowhere else was this so 
marked as in the Low Countries. Holland was the chief commercial and indus- 
trial nation of the world at the opening of the seventeenth century. It was doing 
more for education and had a fuller conception of the value of civil liberty than 



THE COMMON-SCHOOL SYSTEM. 515 

any other. Mr. Motley, in his history of the Dutch Republic, says, "the children 
of the wealthier classes enjoyed great facilities for education in all the great cap- 
itals," and that " intellectual cultivation was not confined to the higher orders, 
but, on the contrary, it was diffused to a remarkable degree among the hard- 
working citizens and handicraftsmen." This people had sprung from sturdy 
Teutonic and Celtic tribes, and inherited a thrifty disposition and a manly and 
independent bearing. They had but just followed the lead of the finest orator, 
the most sagacious statesman, and the greatest soldier of the sixteenth century, in 
a revolt against arbitrary power, and had fought most heroically and suffered 
incomparably in the world's first and most memorable contest for liberty. With- 
out democratic theories they had been spending their treasure and blood in resist- 
ing tyranny, until by force of circumstances their governmental organization 
became a republic. To such a people the company of Puritans, with Pastor John 
Robinson at its head, fled from England for shelter before drifting upon Plymouth 
Rock. From this people came the first settlers in a village which, for obvious 
reasons, they called New Amsterdam, in a territory they called New Netherland. 
It would be strange, indeed, if they had not proved to be an industrious and 
thrifty people, as it would be equally strange if they had not brought with them a 
love for liberty and an instinct for self-government. Sturdy in body and mind, 
quaint in figure, tolerant in spirit, given to trade and to the accumulation of 
property, they cut the forest, tilled the ground, built huts, opened shops, traf- 
ficked with the Indians, while they organized society, established public worship, 
opened schools, and erected all the institutions of a civil state. In the most for- 
bidding circumstances and contending with the strongest odds, they impressed 
their ways and their beliefs upon the future history of the country. 

THE DUTCH ESTABLISH FREE SCHOOLS. 

Our colonial records clearly show that in the midst of the most overwhelming 
difiiculties they were not indifferent to the importance of schools, for even in thei.- 
most important documents the affairs of the schools receive frequent mention. 
Their primitive and crude ideas, their difficulties in raising money and regulating 
teachers, the way in which they made great contentions out of insignificant mat- 
ters, would be ludicrous if not so common in the closing years of the nineteenth 
century. 

In 1621 the States-general of Holland enjoined the colony '• to find speedy means . 
to maintain a clergyman and a schoolmaster," and it was required that "each 
householder and inhabitant should bear such tax and public charge as should be 
considered jDroper for their maintenance. " Four years later the expenses of the 
schoolmaster are shown to have been 360 florins, just one-fourth those of the min- 
ister. You observe that some pernicious ideas relate back to very early precedent. 

In 1638 Adam Roelandson, a professional schoolmaster, was brought over to take 
charge of the school. He remained in charge for nine years, and is believed to 
have been the first professional schoolmaster in the country. Unfortunately the 
proof is abundant that he was of a quarrelsome nature and no credit to the 
profession. 

Before 1650 New Amsterdam had a population of 800. Jan Cornelisen, Jan 
Stevenson, and Aryaen Janson are mentioned as teachers who kept schools "in 
hired houses. " The excise moneys seem to have been set apart to pay teachers, 
and they were in part at least paid out of the public treasury. One of the reports 
of the board of accounts of New Netherland estimates that the expense for the 
next year of the " schoolmaster, precentor, and sexton " will be 30 florins, or about 
$12.30 per month. The estimate appears to have been conceived in too imprudent 
a spirit, and was reduced to 18 guilders or $7.56 per month. On one occasion the 
governor of the colony parleyed with the Indian chiefs and urged them to send 



516 HISTOEY OF HI&HER EDUCATIOlSr IIST NEW YORK. 

their sons down to New Amsterdaixi to school. After taking a week to consider, 
they diplomatically answered that they were powerless to accept the invitation, for 
the boys were altogether tinder the control of their mothers. I am sure that 
William Vestens, a teacher of ancient days, will not only challenge your admira- 
tion, but gain your sympathy, for he is shown to have led a bold but apparently 
an ineffectual movement for " an increase of salary." 

The churches frequently maintained or supervised schools, and not uncommonly 
the functions of the minister and teacher were economically combined in the same 
person. Indeed, it more than once happened that the poor teacher had also to act 
as sexton. precentor, choirmaster or psalmsetter, and a "comforter of the sick," 
as the person who supplied the minister's place was commonly called. "Clergy- 
men, comforters of the sick, and schoolmasters " were designated as " necessary 
officers" in the articles adopted by the economical States-general in 1638, concern- 
ing the colonization of New Netherland. One of the dignified early reports upon 
the condition of the colonj'- speaks of the plate having been passed around a long 
time to raise money to build a schoolhouse, "which has as yet been built only 
with words," and asserts that the school "is kept very irregularly by this one or 
that according to his fancy, as long as he thinks proper." If this was not for the 
purpose, it certainly should have had the effect of loosening the purse-strings of 
the home government. 

The extension of the population into the interior is shown by the official direc- 
tion to provide ministers and teachers to be sent to "Rensselaer's Colonie" and 
other " distant places." In one instance the people are plainly told by the director 
for the colony that "if they are such patriots as they appear to be, they will be 
leaders in generous contributions for laudable objects, and will not complain when 
the directors request a collection toward the erection of a church and a school." 
That learning was making progress is shown by the fact that in 1655 Aegidius 
Luyck is spoken of "as late principal of the Latin school in New Amsterdam." 
In several instances the governor and council of the colony received complaints 
that the inhabitants of certain villages refused to pay for the support of schools, 
and, after notifying the delinquents to appear and answer, ordered them "to 
promptly pay their share for the support aforesaid, on pain of proceeding against 
them with immediate execution." How much pain would ensue in that painful 
event, I am certainly unable to say. 

COMMON SCHOOLS IMPARTED FROM HOLLAND. 

Reminiscences like these might be multiplied almost indefinitely. Enough have 
been recited to show that while learning was in its incipient stages, as was every- 
thing else, yet the common-school idea was among this people in the correct form, 
and that it was developing. Indeed, it occurs to me that enough has been shown 
to establish the proposition that we are indebted to the Republic in the Netherlands, 
rather than the Kingdom of Great Britain, for the first and essential principles of 
the free-school system, and that the first importation came by way of the narrows 
at Sandy Hook, rather than over Cape Cod. 

LATIN SCHOOLS AT NEW AMSTERDAM. 

In 1658 the people Petitioned Peter Stuyvesant, the director, for a person to 
teach a Latin school, assuring him that it would be well attended, and would 
lead to the formation of an academy, " whereby this place to great splendor will 
have attained." The petition was granted, and a classical school was opened. 
Dr. Alexander Carolus, a professional teacher, was principal. He received $187.50 
annually from the public treasury, was provided with a house and garden, received 
six guilders from each student, and was allowed to i^ractice medicine in addition. 



THE COMMOlSr-SCHOOL SYSTEM. 517 

ENGLISH GOVERNMENT OPPOSED TO COMMON SCHOOLS. 

It is said by eminent authority that when tlie Dutch were obliged to surrender 
to the English in 1664, the educational spirit was so common througliout the 
colony that almost every settlement had a regular school taught by more or less 
permanent teachers, and that there was a decided setback given to this move- 
ment upon the advent of the English in consequence of the apprehension on the 
part of the nobility that common schools would nourish and strengthen a spirit 
of independence which had, even then, made some considerable headway. It is 
true that the official instructions sent by the Government to the successive gov- 
ernors of the province uniformly provided that no person should be permitted to 
come from England to teach a school without the license of the archbishop of 
Canterbury, and that no person here should do so without the license of the gov- 
ernor, but it seems clear that this was not so much for the purpose of excluding 
incompetent instructors as it was to control appointments and determine the 
course of the schools. 

Substantially the only legislative act relating to free schools passed within the 
colony during the English rule is that entitled "An act for encouragement of a 
grammar free school in the city of New York,"' bearing date of November 22, 1702. 
It provided that there should be "Elected, Chosen, Authorized and appointed, 
one able, skilfull and Orthodox person to be Schoolmaster, for the education and 
instruction of youth and Male Children of such parents as are of French and 
Dutch extraction as well as of the English," and that there should each year for 
seven years be levied and collected the siim of £50 for the support of such school- 
master. This would seem to impair the statement that the English did not aid 
the organization of schools. But an examination of the records confirms the fact 
beyond question. 

The bill was first passed by the general assembly in which the Dutch were 
strong if not predominant. The governor and council refused to approve it and 
returned it to the assembly. The assembly adhered to its position. A commit- 
tee of conference was appointed, and, after days of controversy, a compromise 
was finally agreed upon by which the bill was amended so as to require that the 
teacher should be licensed and approved by the bishop of London or the governor 
or commander in chief of the province. The bill was enacted by the Dutch. It 
was aijproved by the English governor, but not until amended so as to enable 
him to control the school in the interests of the established church and the Crown. 
When, by its own terms, the provisions of this measure expired, seven years later, 
nothing was done to renew or continue them. 

Indeed, all the English schools in the province from 1700 down to the time of the 
Declaration of Independence were maintained by a great religious society organ- 
ized under the auspices of the Church of England, and, of course, with the favor 
of the Government, called " The society for the propagation of the gospel in for- 
eign parts." The law governing this society provided that no teacher should be 
emjjloyed until he had proved "his affection to the present government," and 
his conformity to the doctrine and discipline of the Church of England." Schools 
maintained under such auspices and infiuences were in no sense free schools. 

Indeed, as humiliating as it is, no student of history can fail to discern the fact 
that the Government of Great Britain, during its supremacy in this territory, did 
nothing to facilitate the extension or promote the efficiency of free elementary 
schools among the people. 

I observe with interest, in this connection, that Mr. Edward Eggleston, in a 
most readable article concerning the early English colony in Virginia, which 
appears in the July number of the Centtiry Magazine, states that the policy of 
the English Government touching schools in that colony was precisely what we 
have found it to be in New York. In all the colonies it was what we might have 



518 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATION" IN NEW YORK. 

expected to find. The nobility reasoned that poor men and ignorant men cotild be 
governed, and that learning brought disobedience and heresy into the world, and 
kings and princes, lords and earls and dukes acted in accord with their beliefs. 

If the English nobility did nothing to extend elementary schools, the Dutch 
were largely indifferent to advanced schools. Their leading men were merchants 
whose sons went from the elementary schools into the affairs of trade. 

It was precisely the same considerations which led the English to treat the ele- 
mentary schools with indifference that also led to the organization and shaped the 
policy of the first college in the State. Its business was to educate leaders to the 
tenets of the State church, so far as religion might go, and who would sympathize 
and agree with the English aristocracy, so far as politics were concerned. Twenty 
years after the organization of this college its officers requested a royal charter 
granting special privileges. In a letter transmitting this request, and urging that 
it be granted, Cadwallader Golden, the lieutenant-governor of the province, con- 
cludes as follows: "It therefore seems highly requisite that a seminary on the 
principles of the Church of England be distinguished in America by particular 
privileges, not only on account of religion, but of good policy, to prevent the 
growth of republican principles, which akeady too much prevail in the colonies." 

My limits will not allow me to spend more time in referring to the educational 
facts bearing upon the colonial period. We must be content, for the present, 
with the statement, which is abundantly supported by the facts, that under the 
mistaken policy of the English rule the schools languished, and during the prog- 
ress of the war for independence, which raged with great fierceness over oxir ter- 
ritory, they were nearly or quite obliterated. The fury of war had closed the 
doors or entirely extinguished the single college and, practically, all of the acad- 
emies and schools. 

REVIVAL OF LEARNING AT CLOSE OF THE REVOLUTION. 

With independence and free statehood came a renewed interest in edtication 
and a strong impulse toward the advancement in learning. The foremost states- 
men deemed the subject worthy their closest attention. Immediately upon the 
advent of peace Governor George Clinton said to the legislature of 1784: "'There 
is scarce anything more worthy your attention than the revival and encourage- 
ment of seminaries of learning." In a communication to the same legislature, 
asking for a revision of their charter, the few remaining governors of Kings College 
stated that the greater part of theirnumber "had died out or departed from the 
State," and that many parts of their charter "are inconsistent with that liberality 
and that civil and religious freedom which our present happy constitution points 
out." 

In answer, came an act changing the name from " Kings " to " Columbia," under 
which the old institution played a most important part in the formative period of 
the Commonwealth and the Republic. In time she accumulated means and gath- 
ered honors about her, and now, under the presidency of a young, accomplished, 
and vigorous man, whom we heard with so much satisfaction last evening, seems 
to be entering upon a career of unwonted brilliancy and still more widely extended 
usefulness. 

The act in May, 1784, reorganizing this college, created the State board of regents. 
In theory and intent the regents were constituted a board of trustees of the exist- 
ing college, with authority to organize additional colleges and " seminaries," and 
exercise similar authority over such as should be organized. In fact, the board 
only transacted the business of the single college for three years, and in that time 
experienced innumerable obstacles and difficulties. 



THE COMMON-SCHOOL SYSTEM. 519 

BOARD OF REGENTS PROPOSE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. 

This original board of regents was the first representative body since the Dutch 
rule to make any official or public deliverance looking to the organization of a 
State public school system. Technically, It had no legal authority or responsi- 
bility concerning elementary schools, and it so understood. Indeed, there were 
no such schools at the close of the war, and the prevalent, if not the universal, 
idea was that society itself was not chargeable with any responsibility in that con- 
nection. But the wisest statesmanship of the day was in that board of regents. 
In a musty book of records, now in the archives of Columbia College, and as to 
the custody of which that institution and the board of regents have held contrary 
opinions, there is to be found tha journal of the board during the three years 
when that college constituted the entire university, and when the functions of the 
regents were mainly confined to the supervision of the same. In this book there 
is a record which is certainly of interest to its. 

On the 31st of January, 1787, the board appointed a committee, in the language 
of the record, " to take into consideration the present state of the university, and 
to report as soon as possible the measures necessary to be adopted to carry into 
effect the views of the legislature with respect to the same, and particularly with 
respect to Columbia College." The committee consisted of the mayor of .ISTew 
York, and Messrs. Jay, Rogers, Mason, Livingston, Clarkson, Gros, and Hamilton. 
The report was presented at a meeting held February 16, 1787, adopted, and 
ordered to be transmitted to the legislature. From the nature and verbiage of this 
report, as well as the order in which the names of the committee apiaear, it seems 
reasonably clear that Hamilton drafted it. After setting forth the various diffi- 
culties which the board had experienced and suggesting the necessary remedies, 
the committee went outside of its prescribed duty and, so far as I know, made the 
first public and official presentation of the necessity of common schools main- 
tained by public aiithority, in the following words: 

" But before your committee conclude, they feel themselves bound in faithful- 
ness to add that the erecting of public schools for teaching reading, writing, and 
arithmetic, is an object of very great importance, which ought not to be left 
to the discretion of private men, but be promoted by public authority. Of so 
much knowledge no citizen ought to be destitute, and yet it is a reflection as true as 
it is painful that but too many of our youth are brought up in utter ignorance. This 
is a reproach under which we have long laboured unmarred by the example of 
our neighbors, who, not leaving the education of their children to chance, have 
widely diffused throughout their State a public provision for such instruction. 

" Your committee are sensible that the regents are invested with no funds of 
which they have the disposal, but they nevertheless conceive it to be their duty 
to bring the subject in view before the honorable the legislature who alone can 
provide a remedy." 

Nothing came of this. The legislature passed the act which the board sub- 
mitted, but it contained no mention of common schools. It is impossible to discern 
in any of these early educational statutes any acknowledgment of the principle 
that the State should be responsible for elementary schools. They provided for 
and aided colleges and academies only, quite possibly in the belief that thereby 
elementary education would be promoted indirectly and perhaps most effectually. 

GOSPEL AND SCHOOL LANDS. 

It is indeed strange how little mention there was of schools in those early legis- 
lative sessions. In a comprehensive act of the legislature in February, 1789, 
providing for the sale of certain public lands of the State, the surveyor-general 
was directed to lay out twenty towm-hips. so that each should contain 100 lots of 
250 acres each, and sell the same, except that he should reserve, near the center 



520 HISTOEY OF HIGHER EDUCATIOlSr IN ISTEW YORK. 

of each township, one lot, which should be devoted to the supijort of the gospel, 
and one other to the support of schools. Here is the origin of the gospel and 
school moneys which have mystified so many minds. This action, however, con- 
tained no recognition whatever of the common-school principle. It was only an 
admission of the propriety of public encouragement to churches and schools, and 
that on equal terms. 

FIRST STATUTE FOR AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. 

In 1791 an act was passed authorizing six gentlemen, of whom the first was 
Robert R. Livingston, to receive certain moneys ar'sing from excise fees and fines 
in the town of Clermont, in the county of Columbia, and "not wanted for the 
relief of the poor," and to build a schoolhouse and maintain a school therewith. 
Here is the first authority of the new Commonwealth for an elementarj^ school. 
But it meant little. It levied no tax. It permitted a town to iise for a school 
moneys which would legally go to the support of the poor, and which were not 
needed for that purpose. It put the almshouse and the school on about an equal 
footing. 

FIRST GENERAL STATUTE ENCOURAGING ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. 

But in six years after their first utterance, the board of regents rectirred to the 
matter persistently and heroically. In 1793 and 1T94 and 1795 the board urged the 
matter in their annual reports, and the stanch old governor likewise talked 
strongly and soundly in the legislative ear. In the latter year he spoke in this 
fashion: 

" While it is evident that the general establishment and liberal endowment of 
academies are highly to be commended, and are attended with the mo t beneficial 
consejuences, yet it can not be denied that they are principally confined to the 
children of the opulent, and that a great proportion of the community is ex- 
cluded from their immediate advantages. The establishment of common schools 
throughout the State is happily calculated to remedy this inconvenience, and will 
therefore engage your early and decided consideration." 

These influential ajppeals brought from the legislature of 1795 a law entitled 
"An act for the encouragement of schools," which became the substantial corner 
stone of a State elementary school system. It appropriated $100,000 each year for 
five years from the State treasury ' • for the purpose of encouraging and maintain- 
ing schools in the several cities and towns of this State, in which the children of 
the inhabitants residing in the State shall be instructed in the English language, 
or be taught English grammar, arithmetic, mathematics, and such other branches 
of knowledge as are most useful and necessary to complete a good education." 

This was a grand and noble thing to do. The appropriation was munificent 
when we consider the valuation upon which it was levied. The entire assessable 
valuation then was but about $100,000,000. The same rate upon our valuation 
would yield nearly $>,500,000 as the annual State appropriation for common 
schools now, which, by a curious coincidence, is precisely what the State does appro- 
priate. The State was then heavily in debt; it is free from debt now. But in 
addition to the appropriation, the act required each town to raise by tax half as 
much more as it received from the State appropriation. It did not authorize this; 
it required it. In the assembly, when the bill was under consideration, a motion 
was made to provide that each town should share in the appropriation only upon 
condition that it should raise one-half as much more by local taxation. The 
proposition was voted down. The house said. No, there shall be no conditions or 
uncertainty about it. We will make this appropriation; we will require each 
town to raise half as much more as we give it, and we will set up the machinery 



THE COMMON-SCHOOL SYSTEM, 521 

which will insure its proper expenditure for elementary schools. This was not 
only a grand and a noble, but it was a heroic thing to do. 

But in other ways this first general school law reveals the handiwork of the besb 
statesmanship. It stated the purpose of the law accurately and felicitously. It 
provided a system for allotting the appropriation and for the annual ejection of 
not less tlian three nor more than seven commissioners in each town, who were to 
supervise and direct the system. This appropriation was not intended to pay the 
full expense of the schools. It was only to assist. It was reasoned that the people 
in 'ocalities would associate together bejause of this assistance, and oiien schools. 
The act contemplated the organization of school districts in the country, pro- 
vided for the election of trustees, and set forth their powers and duties. In short. 
it brought into being the elements of .a State school system, and gave shape and 
form to that system, in essential particulars, as it exists to-day. 

"Wise and courageous as were the men who framed this great statute and 
breathed the breath of life into a common-school system (and they were wise and 
courageous beyond their generation), yet they had no conception of, and gave no 
adhesion to, the doctrine now pervading the school system, that it is the dutj' of 
the State to provide by common tax an elementary school within easy access 
of every home, and that a good English education at general expense is the right- 
ful inheritance of every child of the Commonwealth. They advanced to the point 
of believing that the State should encourage schools, and even to the point of 
believing that it might rightfully do this in a substantial way through its power 
to levy and collect taxes. But they still believed that, primarily, the responsi- 
bility rested upon each individual to educate his offspring, and that only when he 
faiied to do this, private or public charity might properly aid the unfortunate. 

It seems strange, in view of the fact that the State had previously confided its 
educational interests, so far as it had acted at all, to the board of regents, and 
that the common-school system was established largely through the infiuence of 
that board, that it did not give the regents siipervision of the new system. But 
it did not do so. On the contrary, the bill recited that special provision had pre- 
viously been made for encouraging colleges and academiies and provided that 
nothing contained in this act should be construed as extending to such institutions. 

In 1800 a strong movement was made for continuing the provisions of the act of 
1795 for another five years. It succeeded in the house, but failed in the senate, 
near the close of the session, by a close vote. Each succeeding year for five years 
the governor urged the subject, but nothing was done. Evidence is not wanting 
to show that the unfortunate delay and neglect resulted from differences as to the 
best course to pursue, and particularly as to whether the administration of the 
system should be given to the regents. In 1803 the foundations of a permanent 
common school fund were laid, and from that time, in spite of some neglect and 
hindrances innumerable, the common-school system has, with unvarying uniform- 
ity, grown in strength and in efficiency. In 1798 the reports received showed the 
organization of 1,352 schools, with 59,660 pupils. In 1815 there were 2,755 districts 
and 140,106 pupils. In 1830 there were 9,063 districts and 499,424 pupils. Last year 
there were 1,803,667 pupils in the common schools of the State. 

PUBLIC SCHOOL SOCIETY OF NEW YOKK CITY. 

Even the briefest narration of the development of the State school system would 
be tmfaithful which failed to make mention of a great organization known as the 
" Public School Society of the City of New York." It was chartered by the legis- 
lature in 1805, and was composed of the foremost citizens of the metropolis. Its 
object, as stated in its charter, was to establish "a free school in the city of New 
York for the education of such poor children as do not belong to or are not pro- 
vided for by any religious society." Tliis illustrates the prevailing sentiment of 



522 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATIOIS" IN NEW YORK. 

the time concerning the relation which society should sustain to common educa- 
tion better than any language of mine can do it. hi acting up to the spirit of 
the times, and in carrying out the beneficient objects for which it was created, 
this society won the gratitude of the ages. It received public and private contri- 
Dutions and tuition fees for the support of its work, it controlled all the public 
schools in the city for nearly fifty years, and exerted a strong influence upon the 
educational opinion of the country. At its dissolution in 1853 it had supervised 
the instruction of 600,000 children, and it turned over to the board of education 
of the city of New York property worth more than .§450.000. 

What this society was doing in the city of New York was being done in one 
way or another, to a greater or less extent, by associated effort in all the cities and 
towns of the State. 

GROWTH OF THE SYSTEM. 

The fact that the State assumed to regulate the affairs of the schools to some 
extent, as well as the aid which it gave them, coupled with the growing public 
interest in them and the ardor of the professional educators, steadily promoted 
the growth and development of the system till, in the judgment of the most com- 
petent and impartial witnesses, it clearly led the educational work of the country. 
In his annual report for 1845 Horace Mann, secretary of the board of education of 
Massachusetts, says: '; The great State of New York is carrying forward the work 
of public education more rapidly than any other State in the Union, or any other 
country in the world." And Henry Barnard, of Connecticut, at the first meeting 
of your association in the same year, said: "I have watched the progressive 
improvement in the organization and administration of the school system of this 
great State with intense interest, and regard it at this time as superior to any 
other of which I have any knowledge, for its extent, its liberality, its efficiency, 
and the general intelligence and activity with which its widespread affairs are 
administered."' These will be recogni-^ed at once as great names— perhaps the 
greatest — in the history of common-school development in the country. 

THE RATE BILL. 

The early legislation seems to have been framed on the belief that the income of 
the State school fund and the tax equal to one-half its share, which each district 
was required to raise, would support the schools, but this was found to be inade- 
quate, and then it" was provided that the schools should be maintained a specified 
time each year and that any deficiency in funds should be collected from the patrons 
of the schools in proportion to the attendance of their children. This gave rise to 
the * ' rate bill. '' It was only a tax levied upon parents in proportion to the number 
of days which their children attended the school. The amounts raised in this 
way were not inconsiderable. In 1830 it was $874,000; in 1840, $475,000; in 1867, 
the last year of the system, it was $709,000. The average sum annually collected 
by rate bill in the forty years from 1828 to 1868 was §410,685.66. 

The greatest contest concerning schools which the State has known was over 
the abolition of the rate bill and the consequent establishment of absolutely free 
schools. Every man here past 50 years of age, who is accustomed to be inter- 
ested in affairs, will feel the blood coursing more rapidly through his veins at the 
remembrance of the fight for schools free to all and maintained at public 
expense. I fear none of the ladies are old enough to recall it. 

The system became odious. It discriminated against the poor. Although it 
permitted trustees to excuse such from paying fees, no self-respecting man could 
suffer himself to be publicly adjudged to be poor by a school trustee. It afforded 
a good excuse or plausible pretext for nonattendance. It was attended with 
many misunderstandings and disputes, and promoted demoralization in many 
ways. Sentiment was deeply agitated and found expression in every direction. 



THE COMMON-SCHOOL SYSTEM. 523 

In 1849 the legislature submitted the question to a vote of the people, and the 
returns showed 249,873 in favor of making '-the property of the State educate the 
children of the State," and 91,951 against it. The opponents were not content. 
In 1850 they procured legislation resubmitting the question, and the returns 
showed 209,616 against the rate bill, and 184,303 for the old system. Still the 
opponents were not content. In 1850 a kind of compromise was effected, and the 
controversy was attempted to be settled by restoring the rate bill and levying a 
State tax for $800,000, to be distributed with the school money. This tax, increased 
to larger amounts, has been annually raised since, and is technically known as the 
"free-school fund." 

But, as a general thing, the cities would not tolerate the rate bill. At their 
solicitation the legislature, from time to time, passed special acts creating a board 
of education with general powers and duties, and in this manner set up an organ- 
ized school system in each city. These special laws ordinarily authorized taxa- 
tion adequate to the entire support of the schools, and thus the rate bill became 
obsolete in most of tlie cities at a comparatively early daj . 

In the meantime the " union free-school district system" became legally per- 
missible, and met with considerable favor. It authorized districts to combine and 
establish a graded school and meet the expenses by a general tax, thus obviating 
the necessity for the rate bill in communities adopting it. In 1867, under the 
impetuous and able leadership of Victor M. Rice, the rate-bill system was finally 
abolished, and the principle that the schools should be absolutely free to all and 
supported at public and general expense was fully and triumphantly established. 

WHAT HAS PROMOTED THE GROWTH OP THE COMMON-SCHOOL SYSTEM. 

Now, permit me, in as few words as I can well employ, to speak of the distin- 
guishing characteristics which have made our State school system the leading 
influence in developing the intellectual and therefore the material life of the 
Commonwealth, and have constituted it a model for other States, so far as their 
representatives have had the foresight and the courage to follow it. It may fairly 
be said that these are four in number: 

1. State support 

2. Extent and manner of supervision. 

3. Technical training of teachers. 

4. Cooperative effort. 

STATE SUPPORT. 

The State has not at all times done all that her ardent educators have asked. 
Her generosity has been so munificent that their standard has been high and their 
expectations great. For man}' years her authority has been potent and her 
bounty plenteous. Passing the first splendid appropriation, before the dawn of 
the nineteenth century, to which I have previously adverted, we find that in 1805 
she laid the foundation of a permanent common-school ftmd, and provided for 
its increase, until last year it amQunted to $4,000, 0'OO. Acting upon the commonly 
accepted theory of the times, large sums were appropriated year after year to 
encourage schools. At an early day the State began the policy of requiring 
localities to raise by tax such additional amounts as were necessary to maintain 
schools, and authorized all communities to levy such additional amounts as they 
saw fit for the same jpurpose. 

More than fifty years ago the State initiated the school district library system, 
and since that time has annually made a liberal appropriation to maintain the 
same. It is true that portions of this money have been diverted to other uses and 
that the whole matter needs revision now, but it is equally true that the millions 
of volumes which the fund has supplied greatly enhanced the efficiency of the 
schools and promoted the mental growth of the people of the State. In 1851 it 



524 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

disavowed the old doctrine that education was the rightful inheritance of the 
opulent, but ought to be doled out in reasonable quantities as a charity offering to 
the poor, adopted the principle that the property of the State should educate the 
children of the State, and began regularly to levy a State tax for schools, and 
commenced the annual ai)propriation of the ' ' free-school f und. "' Under this policy 
the amount raised by general and local taxation for common schools in the State 
has rapidly advanced from $1,600,000 in 1850 to $3,700,000 in 1860, $10,000,000 in 
1870, and nearly $17,000,000 last year. 

In 1866 the State extended to local authorities the power to acquire land for 
school sites by the right of eminent domain. It is a lesson which the States of 
the Union have been slow to learn, and which some of them will apparently never 
learn, that the efficiency of a school system must necessarily depend largely upon 
the extent of support and the proper but complete exercise of State authority. 
Men who understand it not uncommonly lack the courage to say so. The Empire 
State appreciated this fact early, earlier than any other, and her statesmen have 
acted with wisdom and courage in the matter. Now for many years the au- 
thority and power of the State have been freely exerted in innumerable ways to 
the extension and betterment of school property and the improvement of the 
schools. 

EXTENT AND MANNER OF SUPERVISION. 

When New York first took action looking to the organization of common schools, 
town commissioners, with trustees in subdistricts, were provided for. When the 
time came to S3t about reducing the disconnected schools which, under her aid 
and encouragement, had been organized in her cities and towns and along her 
picturesque hillsides and valleys into s .mething HItb an organized and related sys- 
tem, she did it through a general system of supervisory officers, a plan which has 
since been put in operation in all the States of the Union, but in the adoption of 
which she clearly led the way. 

In 1812 an act was passed providing for the appointment, by the counsel of 
appointment, of a State superintendent of common schools. The same statute 
also provided for the election in each town, at the annual town meeting, of three 
commissioners to superintend and manage the affairs of the schools within their 
town. In 1814 this statute was reenacted witli som© amendments, among which 
was a provision that there should also be chosen at each town meeting " a suitable 
number of inhabitants, not to exceed six," to act with tlie three commissioners as 
inspectors of common schools. 

Upon the office of superintendent of common schools being established, Gideon 
Hawley, then a young lawyer, and whom I recollect as a pleasant and dignified 
old gentleman on the streets of Albany sixty years later, was appointed to fill it. 
His vigorous intellectuiil powers and his devotion to the duties of his position 
brought a stately and compact system out of disorganization, chaos, and confu- 
sion, and gained for him a large share of public confidence and esteem. But he 
did not get on well with the wicked politicians with which the State seems to 
have been infested in those early days. The counsel ol' appointment removed him 
just prior to the expiration of its own life, as provided by the constitution of 1831, 
and appointed Welcome Ss'eeck in his place. So strong was the public indigna- 
tion concerning this act that the legislature promptly abolished the office of 
superintendent and devolved the duties thereof upon the office of secretary of 
state. 

Chapter 260 of the laws of 1841 is very important in that it provided for the 
appointment, by the board of supervisors in each county, of a deputy superin- 
tendent of common schools for the county, except that in counties having more 
than 200 school districts they were to appoint two deputies. Here we find the 
beginning of the county or district commissioner system. 



THE COMMON-SCHOOL SYSTEM. 525 

• In 1843 the offices of town commissioners and inspectors were abolished, and 
provision was made for the election in each town, at town meeting, of a "town 
superintendent of common schools." 

In 1847 the office of county deputy superintendent or county superintendent, as 
it had come to be called, was abolished. 

In 1854, by a bill introduced by Hon. William H. Robertson, then and now the 
senator from the Westchester district, and always the steadfast and able friend 
of the schools, the State department of public instruction was organized and the 
office of superintendent of public instruction was created. 

In 1856 the office of town superintendent was abolished and that of school com- 
missioner was again created. 

Thus it will be seen that we have had supervision by State officers since 1812, by 
county or district officers from 1841 to 1847 and from 1856 to the present time, and 
by town officers from 1795 to 1856. The general features of this comprehensive 
plan of school supervision have affected the develi^pment of the school system most 
advantageously. 

EMINENT SUPERINTENDENTS. 

In the list of State superintendents some very eminent names appear. 

Gideon Hawley was, in his way, truly a great man. Of lofty personal attri- 
butes and great natural dignity of character, yet modest and retiring in demeanor, 
he was methodical, painstaking, and persevering to the last degree, the ideal man 
through the jDeriod of construction and organization. For the paltry sum of §300 
per year he perfected a system for the management of the school fund and for 
the organization of districts, provided for the fair and equitable distribution of 
the bounty of the State in each district, and set in operation the vast and intricate 
machinery of the State school system. The State never rewarded him for his dis- 
interested labors, but posterity will not withhold the credit which is his due. 

Particularly fortunate was the State in its general superintendents from 1826 to 
1845. This period is covered by the continuous administration of four great men — 
Azariah C. Flagg, John A. Dix, John C. Spencer, and Samuel Young. 

The first had been in the legislature several years before coming to this work, 
and went from it to the office of comptroller of the State, which he filled from 1834 
to 1846, and rounded out a reputation as one of the truly eminent men of the 
State. 

Of General Dix the world knows. Before he put his great natural and schol- 
astic abilities at the service of our school system he had been on a special and 
delicate mission to Denmark and received high military honors, including the 
office of adjutant-general of the State. He afterwards held innumerable positions 
of public trust, including those of Secretary of the Treasury, United States Sena- 
tor, major-general in the United States Army during the civil war, and finally 
governor of this State. 

Mr. Spencer was a graduate of Union, and had served one term as attorney-gen- 
eral, one term in Congress, and two in the State senate, and had served as a com- 
missioner in the revising of the statutes of the State before he became superin- 
tendent of common schools, and was Secretary of War and Secretary of the 
JTreasury afterwards. 

Samuel Young had been in each house of the legislature, had served as canal 
commissioner from 1816 to 1840, and was the Democratic candidate for governor 
against Mr. Clinton in 1824. Incidentally it is amusing to recall that in more 
illiberal times than these he once denied an application to revoke the certificate 
of a teacher for dancing, card playing and drinking on the ground that he did the 
same things himself when a young man. 

I speak of these four men with some particularity, not so much because they 
otherwise attained such great itrominence as to recall the qualities which they 



526 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IIST NEW YORK. 

brought to the discharge of the duties of superintendent, and to point out their 
influence upon the affairs of the schools. They occupied the ofS.ce through a try- 
ing and critical period. They enjoyed the office and filled it. They shaped the 
policy and gave tone and substance to the whole system. Their decisions have, 
in many instances, become the common law of the schools. Their strong sense 
of right and their uncompromising steadfastness constituted a secure fortress 
against which the waves of ignorance, prejudice, and controversy might beat 
harmlessly and without effect. Other names are entitled to a place upon the bright 
side of the temple of fame and to share in the gratitude of the commonwealth for 
exerting an exceptional influence in behalf of her schools, but it was the matchless 
leadership of these four great men from 1826 to 1845 which, according to Horace 
Mann and Henry Barnard, placed the New York system in the advance of all the 
rest at the end of that period. 

To every one of the old State superintendents may be traced some prominent 
feature of our present school system. Besides those whose names I have men- 
tioned. Nathaniel S. Benton and Christopher Morgan, Henry S. Randall and Elias 
W. Leavenworth, Victor M. Rice and Henry H. Van Dyck, were strong men, all 
of them. The aggressiveness of some of them, and the siibstantial conservatism 
of others, perhaps in equal degree, have impressed themselves upon the work of 
the schools and so combined all in a common system as to carry the best feature 
of each to all the remotest parts of the State. 

NECESSARY AUTHORITY. 

The extreme decentralization of authority, the mistaken idea that the operation 
of the schools sho'uld largely be left to local direction, has been a great drawback 
upon American public schools. The power and authority which, at a very early 
day, this State vested in its school department has given it an advantage over its 
neighbors which they will recover only with extreme difficulty. It is possible 
that this authority hasTieen injudiciously or erroneously exercised upon occasions. 
I do not believe it has ever been exercised maliciously or influenced by unworthy 
considerations. In any event, the presence of such an exalted power, the fact that 
it may be speedily and conclusively exercised, and that, ordinarily, it is well exer- 
cised, has quelled disputes, shaped policy, directed and applied energy, procured 
support, concentrated effort, made the school system the creature of the State, 
and in innumerable ways promoted its healthful and productive activity. For 
the same reasons, if not in equal degree, local supervision has been helpful to the 
development of the school system. The work of the city superintendent and the 
county commissioner has promoted uniformity, put out incompetency, aided and 
encouraged the timid, directed the strong, curbed the passionate, and in more 
ways than can be mentioned given effectiveness to the means and the energies 
devoted to the service of the schools. In short, the system of supervision which 
is everywhere present, with its authority to regulate buildings, certify teachers, 
control all the concerns of the schools, and which is required to collate and report 
the facts, and is held in a large measure responsible for results, has been a potent 
influence in advancing the character and efficiency of the schools. 

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF TEACHERS. 

The next feature which must attract the attention in investigating the causes 
which have been most potential in advancing the State free school sj'stem is the 
continuous and costly effort to improve the teaching service. Aside from an 
exceedingly small number of prominent positions, the compensation of teachers 
has, from the beginning, been so moderate that persons with the required qualifi- 
cations would be allured to other occupation by larger remuneration. 

It must be admitted, also, that the uncertainties and humiliating conditions sur- 



THE COMMON-SCHOOL SYSTEM. 527 

rounding a teacher's employment are frequt ntlj'^ such as to drive an independent 
and self-respecting person to other work at no better j)ay. For these and other 
reasons not necessary here to enumerate, the greater number of persons who com- 
mence teaching do so upon the understanding that it is only a temporary expedi- 
ent and not a permanent means of livelihood. This has made it exceedingly diffi- 
cult to secure the requisite number of persons completely or even measurably 
adapted to the instruction of the schools. This has been largely so from the begin- 
ning, bat the fact has been more jprominent in recent years because the qualities 
which constitute a good teacher, and the vast importance of having such qualities 
in every schoolroom, have come to be so much more generally understood. 

The best statesmanship of New York appreciated this matter from a compara- 
tively early date, and at once began special efforts for training competent teachers 
for the schools. In his annual message to the legislature, in 1826, Governor 
DeWitt Clinton referred to the subject in these words: 

" With a full admission of the merits of several who now officiate in that capac- 
ity, still it must be conceded that the information of the instructors of our com- 
mon schools does not extend beyond rudimental education; that our expanding 
population requires constant accessions to their numbers; and that to realize these 
views it is necessary that some new plan for obtaining able teachers should be 
devised. I therefore recommend a seminary for the education of teachers. A 
compliance with this recommendation will have the most benign influence on 
individual happiness and social prosperity.'' 

In his annual message in 1827 the governor recurs to the subject with added 
emphasis, and goes so far as to recommend a central school in each county for the 
special education of teachers. In that very year the legislature added §150,000 to 
the capital of the literature fund " to promote the education of teachers.'' 

From this time there was much discussion of the subject until a statute was 
enacted in May, 1834, which authorized the regents to spend a portion of the lit- 
erature fund in specially educating teachers, and this brought into existence the 
teachers' classes in the academies. The sum of $500 was given to purchase books 
and apparatus for an academy in each of the senate districts as they then existed, 
and the further sum of $400 was given for the support of an instructor in each 
academy. 

The classes for teachers were opened in these academies in the autumn of 1835. 
In succeeding years the appropriations were increased, and thus the number of 
classes was multiplied. This work has been continuous to the present time. A 
year ago the supervision of these classes was transferred from the board of regents 
to the department of public instruction, and this year the appropriation was 
raised from $30,000 to $60,000. 

In April, 1843, the first teachers' institute was held at Ithaca. There were 28 
teachers present, and the session continued two weeks. These gatherings of 
teachers were at first voluntary, but soon came to be regulated and supported by 
the State. In later years they have been held with regularity in each commis- 
sioner district, and teachers have been paid for attendance, while attendance has 
been comi^ulsory. 

In 1844 the first State normal school was opened at Albany. Others have been 
established from time to time until now there are ten of these institutions, and 
the eleventh is to be opened in the coming autumn. These schools have real 
estate worth $1,400,000, and furniture and apparatus valued at §150,000 more. 
Last year they had, all told, 6,468 pupils and graduated 537. The State paid for 
the maintenance of these institutions last year $272,581.85. In March last the 
name of the original school was changed to that of " The New York State Normal 
College," and it will hereafter receive only pupils who have more fully completed 
their work in subject-matter in the ordinary schools, and will devote 'its entire 



528 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK, 

time to the technical training of teachers not only for the elementary but the 
advanced schools. 

In 1870 the city of New York' opened a normal college for the purpose of pre- 
paring teachers for the public schools of that city, and from which the supply is 
largely drawn; and in nearly every other city of the State special schools or classes 
are continually maintained for the same purpose. In most cities of the State no 
teachers are certified or employed Avho, in addition to scholastic attainments, do 
not show a year or more of professional training. A bill to establish this princi- 
ple in all cities and villages employing a superintendent of schools passed the last 
legislature with but little opposition, and only failed to become a law for want of 
the approval of the governor. The law would only have hastened matters some- 
what. The inevitable trend is in this direction. The city that does not exact as 
much will soon find itself behind the times. With or without law the time will 
soon come when some special and technical training will be exacted on the part 
of all persons seeking employment in the schools of our cities and villages. 

In the country the uniform system of simultaneous examinations for teachers 
and the multiplication of teachers' training classes in the academies and union 
schools are leading steadily in the same direction. 

The Empire State has a proud record upon this matter, and I refer to it with 
pride and satisfaction. She commenced the work of training teachers early. I do 
not claim for the fathers who inaugurated the work sixty years ago a very clear 
comprehension of the problems involved. They probably knew but little of psy- 
chology and pedagogy. They were not thinking of technical or professional 
training.'- They were looking for teachers who had knowledge without much 
reference to the art of transmitting it successfullj'. 

In making provision at public expense for even the education of such they 
builded up academies in all parts of the State, and created centers where learning 
glowed to radiate and ilhimine all the country round about. They reared and 
trained scholars who, in their turn, stimulated and promoted educational and pub- 
lic-school development everywhere. They heightened the general intelligence, 
and hastened the time when the common sentiment of the people will forbid that 
helpless children shall be delivered into the care of other children, or of weaklings 
and unfortunates on the one hand, as well as the unfit favorites of small politi- 
cians on the other. They opened the way for the early understanding of the 
difficult problem involved, and the general acceptance of the proposition that 
teachers in the schools must be not only liberally educated, but specially and tech- 
nically trained, or come short of the requirements of the service. All honor to 
the statesmanship which inaugurated as well as to that which has since sustained 
and prosecuted this work so intelligently and generously. It has contributed 
more than it knew to the intellectual and moral health of the commonwealth. 

VOLUNTARY ASSOCIATIONS. 

The remaining great influence which has promoted the healthful development 
of our public-school system, and which I shall feel justified in taking time to con- 
sider, is that of the voluntary associations of the friends of education, and partic- 
ularly of teachers. This influence has been a most consetiuential one. The order 
in which I mention it must not be accepted as an indication of its importance. I 
think you will find the subject interesting. I know you would if there was time 
to thoroughly investigate it. 

^ They borrowed from France and Germany. 

^ Note the new college in New York City for training of teachers. 



THE COMMON-SCHOOL SYSTEM. 529 

"SOCIETY OF ASSOCIATED TEACHERS," NEW YORK CITY, 1794. 

In the custody of the State library at Albany, in company with the original 
Andre papers, the original copy of President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclama- 
tion, the original of Washington's Farewell Address, there is a manuscript volume 
of more interest to us than any of them. It is the original minutes of the first 
permanent or continuing teachers' association in America. It was an association 
of schoolmasters, organized in New York City in May, 1794. 

The minutes are neatly and correctly kept, and indicate that any one of the 
secretaries would have been able to pass the State examination if they had had 
mechanical contrivances for testing the qualifications of teachers in those days. 
The journal shows that meetings were held with much regularity at least till 1807. 
The first meeting was held May 15, 1794, at the schoolroom of ••Citizen Q-ad Ely.'' 
The first resolution adopted after agreeing to organize was one " that the person 
filling the chair for the time being be authorized to call to order any member 
when necessary." The fact that this precaution was deemed necessary will at 
once put us on terms of easy fellowship with these early teachers. John Wood 
was chosen chairman, and John Winchell secretary. Fifteen persons were pres- 
ent at the first meeting. Opposite nearly every name in the list, some hand has 
written the words "•since dead." It was essentially a secret society. It may 
seem superfluous, therefore, to state the related fact that no ladies were admitted. 
Members were elected by ballot, requiring a three-fourths vote to elect, and were 
received into membership by an initiatory ceremony. The admission fee was $1. 
Meetings were held in the schoolrooms or at the residences of the members, and 
ordinarily about every week. 

From the 21st of March to the 31st of September the association met at 8 o'clock 
and adjourned at 10, and from the 21st of September to the 21st of March it met 
at 7 and adjourned at 9 o'clock. The time of meeting suggests early hours and 
regular habits in somewhat striking contrast with those observed by their succes- 
sors in office. Six shillings were paid to the secretary that he might purchase a 
record book, and he secured a good one, bound in leather, every page of which is 
water lined, with an English coat of arms and the letters • 'G, R. ," in remembrance 
of the fact that one of the Georges was King. 

On July 21, 1794, the common council granted the association the right to meet 
in the common council chamber '-at such time as the same shall net be occupied 
by the public on business or by the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowl- 
edge, the Medical Society, or the St. Cecilia's Society." With the assurance of a 
veteran the infant at once drew on the St. Cecilia's Society to change its night of 
meeting for the better convenience of the schoolmasters' association. 

The officers were a president, secretary, and steward. They served for three 
months, were required to take an obligation or pledge to perform faithfully the 
duties of the several offices, and the president and secretary were fined 25 cents 
and the steward 18i cents for each absence, unless excused. 

But with all these incidental matters, which inspire a smile, this association did 
substantial work. Its proceedings were of practical interest and importance. 
The association assumed to act as a breakwater against incompetency in the 
schools. A committee of seven was appointed to examine persons wishing to 
teach, and such as they found worthy they certified to be so. It is to be hoped 
that they did not forget that they were once young and inexperienced themselves. 
The association also examined and recommended text-books, and evidently com- 
pelled such test-book publishers as there were to treat the society with proper 
and becoming respect. The city library conferred upon the association one mem- 
bership right in that institution, and a "reader" was appointed to examine the 
books and report any information he might receive for the good of the society. 

3176 34: 



530 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

When any student was so disorderly as to oblige the master to expel him the 
facts of the case were reported for the information of all. The association assisted 
its members in collecting tuition fees from slow patrons. Among the subjects 
considered the following are observed, viz: "Is silent study or studying aloud 
most conducive to the improvement of scholars?" ''Whether a systematical 
method of teaching penmanship is more eligible than such methods as are com- 
monly pursued? " "Whether the practice of good flagellations by the tutor is 
advantageous to the good regulation of a school? "' " Whether it is better to sub- 
ject the passions to reason or root them out? " " Ought any religion further than 
morality be inculcated in the schools?" " Whether an indolent person of great 
abilities or one of inferior talents and assiduity makes the best teacher?" "Is 
the same mode of education equally applicable to the male and female sex? " 

They decided that a "theater, under the usual regulations, was not unfavorable 
to morals; " and that "the present situation of affairs was unfavorable to matl'i- 
mony; " that "it would not be good policy to manumit slaves in America imme- 
diately," and the association seems to have gone to pieces in trying to decide 
whether "the mental jjowers of the aborigines of North America were equal to 
those of the Europeans." 

These reminiscenses of this the earliest of teachers' associations might be con- 
tinued almost indefinitely. But so much must suffice for the present. It was a 
primitive organization, but it shows a devotion to their calling on the part of 
these old teachers. With steadfast earnestness they continued for thirteen years 
at least to maintain a teachers' association for mutual improvement and the 
advancement of their schools. They had no precedents to guide them, no suc- 
cesses and failures to light their path. They did not copy; they originated. 
History has not yet done them justice, but it may not always be so. The State 
Teachers' Association may well stand with uncovered head while it respects and 
honors their memory. 

OTHER LOCAL ASSOCIATIONS. 

From the time when the State really assumed a share in the support and super- 
vision of schools, city, county, and town associations of teachers became common 
and have no small part in determining the characteristics of the school system. 
Almost every page in the early books and periodicals related to the interests of 
education reports the doings of these local associations. As early as 1830 the 
State superintendent headed a movement for the organization of county and 
town associations and for the holding of public celebrations, and as a result there 
was marked activity in the way of organizations in all directions and a notable 
increase of public interest in all the affairs of the schools. 

FIRST STATE CONVENTION OF TEACHERS. 

The first State convention of teachers in this State, and the first in any State, 
so far as my investigations have gone, was held at Utica in October, 1830. 
Undoubtedly a thorough investigation would reveal the circumstances which led 
to this gathering, as well as the facts touching its character and its transactions. 
It is shrouded in some mystery, however. I am certain of but one thing con- 
cerning it. and that is that it resolved upon and provided for calling a future 
convention. 

The fact that it called another convention only three months later indicates that 
it was a slim affair and did little, if anything, beyond this. The next State teach- 
ers' convention was held at Utica ,1 anuary 12, 13, and 14, 1831. Rev. Henry Davis, 
D. D., of Hamilton College, was president. Most of the counties were repre- 
sented, and most of the names of the active school men of the day appear in the 
roll of the convention, but we examine it in vain for the name of a woman. Com* 



THE COMMON-SCHOOL SYSTEM. 531 

mittees were appointed as follows, viz: On the qualifications of teachers; on the 
studies and exercises proper for common schools; on appointing one or more 
agents for carrying into effect the objects of the convention; on the construction 
and furnishing of schoolrooms; on the school law of the State. 

The question as to whether the State should establish normal schools or utilize 
the academies for educating teachers was as hot then as it ever has been since. 
The convention, for obvious reasons, declared in favor of utilizing the existing 
schools. 

The committee on "Studies and exercises in the schools" reported that the fol- 
lowing studies should be pursued, viz: Reading, writing, spelling, mental and 
practical arithmetic, geography, English grammar, composition, a method of keep- 
ing accounts, some brief systems of political economy, and some of the simpler 
parts of the natural sciences. " The committee observe that they are aware that 
their list is too large to be pursued in a single school, especially if the number of 
pupils is large. They urge, by way of a solution of the difficulty, that one teacher 
should never have charge of more than 30 or 40 pupils, and that where the school 
is larger than this grading should be resorted to. The committee urge, among 
other things, that the schools should "call into action the intellectual powers of 
the pupils and teach them by independent investigation to arrive at conclusions 
for themselves which shall be according to truth;" that pupils "should not waste 
time in loading the memory with what is not understood:" that they "should not 
be suffered to pronounce words without a knowledge of their meaning;" that in 
arithmetic pupils "may derive much valuable improvement by the help of sensi- 
ble objects, without being burdened with rules above their comprehension." 

This convention sixty years ago also faced the text-book question, but precipi- 
tately surrendered in its presence, and contented itself with saying that while the 
multiplicity of text-books was a great evil, still they thought it unwise for them 
to enter a field which would require them to discriminate, and with apparent 
solemnity expressed the belief that " if a remedy shall be found out for the other 
defects in the system of common-school instruction the text-book evil will grad- 
ually disappear." 

To all of this the convention agreed. It also provided for a State agent to go 
about, hold meetings, arouse the people, encourage teachers, organize lyceums, etc. 

The convention seems to have been in something of a fog concerning the im- 
provement of schoolrooms. It declared that " schoolhouses are too small, the 
ceilings too low, the windows placed quite too near the floor, and that too little 
regard is paid to the ventilation of the rooms." But, in its opinion, the methods 
of remedying these defects were "too plain to require explanation." 

Then it immediately proceeded to explain and suggest that "instead of the plain 
ceilings in common use arched ones might be constructed with great advantage 
and at little additional expense," and that ' ' for the purpose of ventilating the rooms 
the contrivance should be rather to let down the upper than to raise the lower 
sash of the windows, as by that means the greater portion of the air rendered 
unfit for respiration may be easily expelled without exposing the students seated 
next to the wall to currents which pass through the windows or tempting them 
to gaze at external objects to the neglect of their proper studies." As a master 
stroke in the then budding sciences of school economy and school architecture, 
the convention proposed that all schools should adopt the plan upon which the 
principal room in the Lowville Academy was constructed, and proceeded to 
describe it as follows, viz: "The students are so seated for study that while no 
two of them can see each other, the instructor has a full view of all his pupils. 
This mode of seating pupils is easily carried into effect by having the base of the 
building a dodecagon or a polygon of a less number of sides separated into two 
unequal divisions by a partition, and in the larger division should be the seat and 



532 HISTORY OF HiaHEE EDUCATIOlSr IN NEW YORK. 

table of the instructor. On the floor of the principal room there should be con- 
structed three or four concentric ranges of seats, ascending from the center 
toward the periphery of the room, as in a theater, and crossed by partitions 5 feet 
high, regularly converging toward the instructor's seat."' If pupils failed to 
emerge from this formidable machine with their physical', mental, and moral 
natures thoroughly developed and well polished off, the educational situation 
would seem to be in as serious a fix as the pupils were when in the box. 

We must pass from this early convention, although we might pursue our inves- 
tigations into its proceedings with great interest. The convention concluded its 
deliberations by organizing a New York State Lyceum and by adopting an address 
to the public in which it set forth, with much ability, the needs of the schools, 
and called a meeting of the "friends of education from every State in the Union,'' 
in New York city, on the first Wednesday in the following May, for the formation 
of '"a National Lyceum — a republic of letters, coextensive with one political con- 
federacy, whose aim it shall be to establish, as far as practicable, a universal 
system of education, reciprocally to yield and enjoy the advantages of each other's 
discovery, to bind ourselves to firmer union by the humane yet intimate associa- 
tion of literature and science, and relieve the asperities of conflicting interests and 
selfish jealousies by the interchange of intellectual treasure.'' 

OTHER STATE CONVENTIONS. 

Other conventions were subsequently held, but not with regularity, until 1845. 
One occurred at Albany in September, 1836, and another at Utica in May, 1837. 
In May, 1842, a State convention of county superintendents was held at Utica, 
which was presided over by Jabez D. Hammond, the author of the " Political 
History of New York." Forty-two of the fifty-nine counties were represented, 
and Colonel Young, the State superintendent, Horace Mann, and many eminent 
men were present and participated in the deliberations. Subsequent gatherings 
of the same character were held at Rochester in 1843, at Albany in 1844, at Syra- 
cuse in 1845, and at Albany again in 1846. 

PERMANENT ORGANIZATION OP ''THE STATE TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION." 

A most important convention assembled at Syracuse on July 30 and 31, 1845, if 
its importance is to be measured by permanent results. It was the first meeting 
of a permanent and enduring State teachers' association. On the first day 185 
delegates were present from thirty-two counties. On the next day 300 teachers 
were present. William Ross, of Seneca, was temporary, and J. W. Bulkley, of 
Albany, permanent president. Substantially the first business was to invite all 
the text-book agents to address the convention, and Mr. A. L. Smith, of New York, 
agent for Smith's geography, arithmetic, gi-ammar, and divers other books; Mr. 
H. H. Hawley, publisher of Perkins's mathematical series; Mr. Silas Cornell , manu- 
facturer of globes; Mr. A. R.Boyle, a phonographist; Mr. B. Mortimer, agent for 
Salem Town's books, and others, overcame the traditional and proverbial modesty 
of their craft sufficiently to advocate their respective claims before the conven- 
tion. This convention discussed ably and seriously the leading educational ques- 
tions of the day, including the reading of the Bible in the schools, the necessity 
for pedagogical literature, school discipline, and the education and elevation of 
the teaching profession. It determined upon and effected a permanent organiza- 
tion which has met each year since, except that the meeting of 1850, which was 
to have been in New York city, was not held because of the prevalence of cholera. 
This gathering constitutes the forty-fifth in the series of annual meetings. 

And what a notable and noble series of educational meetings it has been! How 
they have been anticipated, and how they have been remembered! What tender 
ties of affection have been here welded! How many minds have been here opened 



THE COMMON-SCHOOL SYSTEM. 533 

to the light! The destiny of how many children has been here influenced and 
directed! How these meetings have affected the educational policy of the State 
and the United States. 

OTHER ASSOCIATIONS. 

At the annual meeting of the State Teachers' Association in Troy, in August, 
1856, the superintendents in the cities and villages, and the county commission- 
ers, formed the State Association of Commissioners and Superintendents. The 
association has met regularly since. This organization has really come to be dis- 
tinctively an association of county commissioners, as the superintendents have 
since associated themselves together in still another organization. 

On the 4th day of August, 1803, the first meeting of officers and teachers in our 
colleges and academies, convened by the board of regents, and since called the 
" University Convocation," occurred, and a similar meeting has been annually held 
at the capital since. 

In 1883, at Syracuse, the superintendents in cities and villages met and organized 
the " State Superintendents' Council," and have held annual meetings at different 
points since. 

On the 29th of December, 1885, the secondary principals of the State met in the 
high-school building at Syracuse, and effected an organization, which has since 
met regularly, and has come to be known as the " Conference of Associated Acad- 
emic Principals." 

Each of these organizations is in vigoi'ous life, with a good record and excellent 
prospects. 

INFLUENCES OF THE ASSOCIATIONS. 

The beneficial influences which all these voluntary associations have exerted, 
and continue to exert, in behalf of the school system is inestimable. 

For a great many years a little company of gentlemen with scientific or literary 
tendencies, and known as the "Albany Institute," has met semimonthly in that 
city and discussed subjects of mutual interest. The meetings are so quiet and 
unobtrusive that they attract but little attention, and influence the social life of 
the capital but imperceptibly. Yet John Ericsson gained his idea of the revolving 
turret for armed war vessels from a volume of the transactions of the Albany 
Institute, and from a paper read and long since forgotten. 

Who shall say that the deliberations of any association of thinkers go for naught? 
And who shall undertake to calculate the extent to which all these regular and 
continuous gatherings of teachers have promoted the general intelligence and 
the mental strength of the State? There is no standard for such a measurement. 

As I have read the records of their proceedings, I have been again and again 
struck with the fact that the leading reforms in the law governing the schools, as 
well as in the procedure of the schools themselves, have originated with and been 
accomplished through the operations of these associations. They have concen- 
trated forces and they have distributed information. On the one hand they have 
removed misunderstandings, originated suggestions, carried the ripest experience 
and the best thought of each teacher into every city and every village and every dis- 
trict, and on the other hand they have combined educational effort, directed edu- 
cational energy, and shaped the educational policy of the commonwealth. Each 
has become a power in itself, but the combined strength of all is invulnerable. 
Happily, fellowship between them is now so complete that no unusual movement 
is prosecuted without the concurrence of all, and with such cooperation the suc- 
cess of the undertaking is practically inevitable. 



534 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

SMALL MATTERS. 

I have now, in a way, covered the ground contemplated at the outset. How 
inadequately I have been able to do so, I am fully aware. Whether or not I have 
been able to interest you, I can truly say that such investigation as, at odd 
moments, I have been able to make into the circumstances which produced and 
the causes which have advanced the State public-school system has been a delight 
to me — such a delight as I know can not be transmitted through any ability of 
mine to tell the story. I would I had the time to tell you of some of the small but 
interesting and amusing matters I have come across in my reading — of the com- 
plaints of the regents and that first New York City association, because their lot- 
tery investments did not i)ay better dividends; of the tribulations in the State 
superintendent's office before Mr. Spencer proposed printed forms for trustees' 
reports in 1841; of General Dix's hurry and anxiety to get out his report "before 
the close of navigation; " of the poorer pay and " boarding around " experiences of 
the earlier teachers; of "summer schools " and " winter schools; " of the physical 
struggles to decide whether the teacher or the big boys should control the school; 
of David P. Page, the first normal principal, going about with horse and wagon to 
examine the candidates for admission and ordinarily determining that they were 
qualified; of Dr. E. A. Sheldon and Susan B. Anthony, noble man and noble 
woman that they were and are, sitting side by side in this association year after 
year, he with his resolutions for the consolidation and more. effective organization 
of educational work, and she with her continual claim for equal rights and a fair 
show for her sex. 

I would like to tell you also of Joseph Lancaster and the Lancastrian methods; 
of the philanthropy of James Wadsworth, who put The School and the School- 
master, a most excellent volume of 550 pages, in the hand of every officer and 
teacher in the State; of the reciprocal influences of the old academies upon the 
common schools and the schools upon the academies; of the stubborn contest with 
sectarianism; of the growth of high schools and night schools and technical 
schools: of a thousand things which have contributed to the development of the 
school system in its present form. 

The field is a rich one, and it is to be hoped that some loyal son or daughter of 
the State, who is jealous of her glory and has an inclination and a gift for original 
research, will enter and cultivate it for the advantage and benefit of all her 
children. 

NEW YORK LEADING THE NATION. 

Looking back over the field we can not escape being impressed with the fact 
that New York has scarcely had full credit for the magnificent part she has borne 
in making the history of our common country. Few people, very few, have the 
leisure or the inclination for original research. The multitude are only too ready 
to take statements at second hand. It is commonly as helpful to the fame of a 
people to have had fervent poets, orators, and historians among their sons as to 
have performed the deeds which light the beacon fires of history. . . . 

The colony at New Amsterdam loved liberty as dearly and certainly had as true 
a conception of the public institutions and regulations which guarantee civil and 
religious freedom as the colony at Plymouth. New York has contributed as lib- 
erally as New England to the material as well as the intellectual development of 
the country. 

If these observations are just in any sense, they are as related to the building 
up of a system of common schools. The first public school in America of which 
we have any knowledge was upon Manhattan Island. The principle that all the 
property should educate all the children of a people was first enforced there. The 
oldest school in America is now maintained at No. 248 West Seventy- fourth street 



THE COMMON-SCHOOL SYSTEM. 535 

in the city of New York. It was in the colony of New York that teachers were 
first required to be certified or licensed. New York was the first State in the 
Union to levy a general tax for the encouragement of elementary schools, as she 
was also the first to establish a permanent State common-school fund. She was 
the first to establish State supervision of elementary schools. She was the first to 
specially provide for the education of teachers, and she is now doing more for the 
professional training of teachers than any other. The institute system was first 
established in New York. She was the first to provide school district libraries. 
She was the first to publish a journal exclusively devoted to the interests of com- 
mon schools. The first local association of a permanent character in the country 
among school teachers was in New York City. The first State teachers' conven- 
tion in the country was held at Utica, and the oldest permanent State teachers 
association in America is the one I now have the honor to address. 

The first woman's college in America was established at Elmira, and the old 
Albany Female Academy is the first higher educational institution for women the 
world ever knew. New York is the only State to have established a special court 
to determine all school controversies, and provide that its decisions shall be final 
and conclusive. It is the only State to provide architects" drawings and estimate 
for schoolhouses, and to determine the character of the structures which localities 
must provide for school purposes. It is the first and only State to give statutory 
recognition to the work of the colleges and universities in educating teachers, and 
to give the same recognition to teachers of acquired position who may come to us 
from other States. We are doing more to build up a teaching profession, by exact- 
ing proper qualifications on the part of teachers and protecting their legal rights, 
than is being done anywhere else in the country. The great State is spending 
more money and exercising closer supervision over common schools than any 
other. The legislative power has been and is continually being exercised to con- 
solidate and systematize her educational work upon an intelligent plan, with a 
definite purpose, to a greater extent than any commonwealth East or West. It is 
no thoughtless, self-conceited boast, it is a fact in the case, which her teachers 
ought to understand, that they may appreciate the responsibility under which 
they rest, that for what she has done and what she is doing and what she is trying 
to do her common-school work occupies the leading position among the States of 
the American Union. 

CONCLUSION. 

I must conclude upon the instant. Even the hasty and superficial examination 
of the rise and development of our State common-school system, which we have 
been able to make in a single evening, will be fruitful of suggestions, which your 
interest in the subject will easily enable you to discern. The one which comes to 
me with more force than any other is that history clearly and unmistakably 
reveals the fact that free schools have invariably been the accompaniment and 
the support of civil liberty and of government by the people. Wherever there 
has been self-government there have been common schools; wherever there have 
been common schools mental strength and manly independence have developed, 
and the Government haa been a democracy, or the kingship has been only a name. 

We can not doubt the stability and the permanence of our unique American 
system of free schools. It is warp and woof of our social fabric the staunchest 
pillar of ovir governmental temple. The most deserving and practical patriots 
are the men and women who do most to simplify and perfect its machinery, to 
make its work ennobling, and to keep its life pure. The most insidious, and there- 
fore the most dangerous, foe of the Reptiblic is the man whose politics or whose 
religion, whose ignorance or whose selfishness, leads him, deliberately or unwit- 
tingly, to thwart the best results of its high and holy mission. 



536 



HISTORY OF HIGHER EDLTCATION IN NEW YORK. 



I thank you for yonr iDatience; it lias seemed boundless. For all your thoughtful 
and considerate courtesj'I make my most respectful acknowledgments; it encum- 
bers the State superintendent with obligations which he has no power to repay 
save only in sincere and grateful appreciation. 

Note.— Investigations, incident to the preparation of the foregoing address, have led me to 
think that an exhibit showing the extent and manner of school supervision which has been in 
operation in this State since the organization of the school system, together with a complete list of 
State superintendents, and a statement indicating the places of meeting, and the presiding offi- 
cers at the various sessions of the different State associations, would be acceptable to the edu- 
cators of the State, and I take tlie liberty of adding the same in a brief appendix. I also 
embrace the opportunity for acknowledging my indebtedness to C. W. Bardeen, of Syracuse, 
who kindly and generously loaned from his private library rare books and documents which 
have been of great assistance, not only in supplying this added information, but in the jsrepa- 
ration of the adiJress itself.— A. S. D. 



APPENDIX. 

Si/stem of supervision. 



Year. 



1795 
1813 
1841 
1847 
1851 
1856 
1890 



By State 
officer. 



By cotinty 
officers. 



By city 
officers. 



State siiperintendent. 



By town 
officers. 



Names. 



Residence. 



Chosen. 



Albany 
do.. 



do 

Plattsburg 

Coopersville . . 
Canandaigua . 
Ballston . 



Gideon Hawley _ 

Welcome Esleeck 

Secretaries of State and su.perintendents, ex officio: 

John Van Ness Yates 

Azariah C. Flagg ..- 

John A. Dix _ 

John O. Spencer 

Samuel Young . 

Nathaniel S. Benton - --- Little Falls . 

Christopher Morgan - Auburn 

Henry S. Randall - Cortland 

Ellas W. Leavenwoi'th , I Syracuse 

Department of public instruction: j 

Victor M. Rice.- Buffalo.. 

Henry H. Van Dyck i Albany 

Emerson W. Keyesa do 

Victor M. Rice-- , -- Buffalo-.. 

Abram B. Weaver Deerfield 

Neil Gilmour -. ; Ballston Spa 

William B. Ruggles ' Bath 

James E. Morrison a New York City. 

Andrew S. Draper - j Albany 



Jan. 14,1813 
Feb. 33,1821 



Apr. 
Apr. 
Apr. 
A]pr. 
Apr. 
Apr. 
Nov. 
Nov. 
Nov. 

Apr. 
Apr. 
Apr. 
Feb. 
Apr. 
Apr. 



3,1831 
14, 1836 
1,1833 
4, 1839 
7,1842 
3,1845 
3, 1847 
4, 1851 
8,1853 

4,1854 
7,1857 
9, 1861 
1, 1863 
7, 1868 
7, 1874 



Mar. 14,1883 
Jan. 1.1886 
Apr. 6,1886 



a Acting superintendent by reason of resignation. 



THE COMMON-SCHOOL SYSTEM. 

Netv York State Teacher's' Association, 



537 



Year. 


Place. 


President. 


1845 - 


Syracuse 


John W. Bulkley. 
Chester Dewey. 
J oseph McKeen. 
Samuel B. Woolworth 


1846 


Utica 


1847 - 




1848 


Auburn 


1849 « - - 






1850 


New York 


Do. 


1851 


Buffalo 


John W. Bnlkiey. 
Nehemiah P Stanton 


iao2 


Elmira 


1853 - 






1854 


Oswego 


Victor M. Rice 


1855.. 


Utica 




1856 


Troy 




1857 






1858 




George L. Parnham. 
Oliver Arey. 
James N. McElligott. 
Edward A. Sheldon. 


1859 


Poughkeepsie 


1860 _ 


1861 - 




1863 - 






1863.. _ _ 


Troy 

Buffalo 


Emerson C. Pomeroy. 


1864 


1865.... - 






1866 






1867 -- . .. 


Auburn 




1868 - 




1869 _ 

1870-.- 


Ithaca - 


William N. Reid. 


1871 __ 






1873 


Saratoga Springs 

Utica 




1873 




1874..-- 




1875 




H R Sanford 


1876 




Noah T. Clark 


1877 






1878 






1879..- . 




Casper G. Brower. 


1880 - 




1881..- 


Saratoga Springs 




1883 - 


Albert B Watkins 


1883 -- 






1884 : 


Elmira 




1885 


Saratoga Springs 

Niagara Falls . - 

Elizabethtown- 


S A Ellis 


1886 




1887 


George Griflftth. 
J W Kimball 


1888. - 


1889 




E. H. Cock 


1890 


Saratoga Springs 

do 




1891 











a No meeting held on account of prevalence of cholera in New Yoi'k. 



538 HISTORY OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN NEW YORK. 

Commissioners and Superintendents' Association. 



Year. 


Place. 


President. 


1856. 


Troy 


Victor M. Rice, State superintendent, 

ex officio. 
H. H. Van Dyck, State superintendent, 

ex officio. 
Do 


1857 




1858 


Elmira 


1859 




Do. 


1860. 


Syracuse 

[During the war, the assoc' 
1 tion ceased to hold meeting . 

Elmira 


Do 


1861.-- - 




1863- 




1863--- - 




1364. - 




1865 


John W. Bulkley (reorsanization). 
John W. Biilkley. 


1866 - 


Geneva 


1867 


Auburn 


1868 


Owego.. 


Charles T. Pooler. 


1869 




(a) 


1870 -t 


Syracuse 


1871. 


Utica 

Rochester 




1873 


(a) 


1873. 




O. F. Stiles. 


1874.--.- -.. 






1875 




Do. 


1876 


Watkins 


Do. 


1877 ... .-- . 


Albany 


Do. 


1878.... 


Utica.- . .. 


Andrew McMillan. 


1879 




Do. 


1880 




Sidney G. Cooke. 
Do. 


1881 


Utica 


1883 


Albany . . 


George V. Chapin. 


1883 


Little Falls 


Edward Wait. 


1884 . . 


Rochester > 


George P. Crumby. 


1885 


Utica 


1886 


Ithaca 


Edward C. Delano. 


1887 


Syractise _ 


Jared Sandford. 


1888 

1889 


Binghamton 


Charles E.White. 




Cortland > 


Ezra B. Knapp. 
Emmons J. Swift. 


1891 .*. 


Batavia 









a It is impossible at present to supply these name& 
favor by forwarding them. 



Any person who can do so will confer a 



Council of superintendents. 



Year. 


Place. 


President. 


1883 . 






1884 




Charles W. Cole. 


1885 -- . . . . 


Auburn 


David Beattie. 


1886 . -- - 




L. C. Foster. 


1887 


Rochester. .. - 


Charles E. Gorton. 


1888 ... ... 




B. B. Snow. 


1889 


Albany 


David Beattie. 









Conferences of associated academic principals. 



Year. 


Place. 


President. 


1885 


Syracuse 


George R. Cutting. 


1886 


do 


Do. 


1887 


do 


Do. 


1888 . 


do 


C. T. R. Smith. 


1889 


. do 


Do. 









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